"What?!"
Seluvis hurried over. Had Sellen learned Sellia's Night Sorcery? How else could she kill a knight without a flash of magic? He drew a short staff. Starlight bloomed, illuminating the cliff a hundred meters below. Bright as day. Now he could see what killed the Cuckoo. He leaned over.
The Iron Puppet beside him shifted, half a step. Raised its shield.
Boom!
A charged Glintstone Arc exploded against the Brass Shield.
Amidst the magic flash, Seluvis spun his head. Dazed. Why no Magic Sigil? Confusion vanished. He looked up at the 'searchlight' above. Light contrast? He was right. Thorne, a master hunter, lured him into a trap, step by step.
Seluvis pursued 'Sellen.' She was a mage, little combat experience. She wouldn't consider details.
'Puppets with independent consciousness are indeed troublesome.'
The sneak attack failed. Thorne, crouching in the tree, stood. Didn't even care about the Marionette Soldiers drawing bows behind him. 'Seluvis must have ordered her captured alive!'
The 'Witch' jumped from the tree. Moved forward, staff waving, firing Glintstone Sorcery like a machine gun.
Swift Glintstone Shard!
Clang, clang, clang...
Fist-sized glintstone shards shattered against the shield. Useless.
Seluvis regained his senses. Raised his hand, gave the knight a magic shield. Laughed, frantic. "Hahaha, Sellen, how much mana do you have left?" He'd analyzed the afternoon's battle. Sellen's mana was exhausted. Even if she rested, how much could she replenish? "Catch her!"
Lobster-headed Puppet and Jar-head lunged from left and right. Three Marionette Soldiers cut off retreat. Seluvis himself hid behind the iron knight. His arm rose. Staff flashed. Glintstone Arc appeared. The Cuckoo Knight bolted. Not stupid. This looked like a terrifying conspiracy. If he didn't run now, was he waiting to die? "You're useless. Go die."
A Spiral Shard streaked through the night sky. Slammed into the back of the Cuckoo Knight, who had fled the range of the 'Starlight.'
A shrill scream.
Seluvis nodded, satisfied. Everything was ready. He refocused on 'Sellen.' The brief interlude over, he found she hadn't run. Instead, she kept a steady pace, like a fool. Ignoring the Marionette Soldiers behind, the two soul puppets. Only firing glintstone shards. In a desperate situation, had she lost her mind?
The magic was useless. Useless against the knight's defense. A hard thing struck my chest. The knight's back. I staggered. Then my eyes widened. A hundred-meter cliff. Physics, however, still worked.
Thorne's eyes were wide. Wind at my back. I rolled.
Bang.
Three marionette soldiers, each with twelve arms, slammed onto the ground. They hadn't expected the slow mage to be so fast. I didn't care what was behind.
I pushed off the ground. Leapt.
In the fading Starlight, I saw Seluvis dart out from behind the iron knight. I could even sense the man's shock.
One more step back, and it would have been a voluntary jump.
I saw the staff pointing at me. Shock faded. Joy emerged.
The lobster-headed puppet had stepped aside. Its raised left pincer was meant to block the magic. The Jar-man, ridiculous in its loincloth, threw a Lightning Pot. Both were meant to land at once. I turned my hand slightly to the right.
"Glintstone Spear!"
A variation. Sellen's creation. Elongated a Great Glintstone Shard. Impact force.
Shoom—Bang!
The Lightning Pot exploded at my feet. Golden electricity covered me. Muscles spasmed. Trembled.
The iron knight leaned back. Its left foot stepped into empty air. Gravity took hold.
Boom!
A dull thud. The puppet shattered.
Seluvis was stunned. Why would Sellen attack the puppet? No time to think.
"Quick, catch her!"
The Jar-man was ridiculous. Underestimate it, and you'd fail.
Sellen was hit by the Lightning Pot. She sat on the ground. The marionette soldiers pounced, knocking away the exquisite staff.
Done!
A mage without a staff was a beast with its teeth pulled. Helpless.
Seluvis also quickened his pace. The commotion of the battle would attract the Glintstone Dragon. He had to get to Sellen first and make her drink the potion. They were only ten-odd meters apart. Mere seconds for a mage. However, at that moment, Seluvis paused. Something was wrong. The magic robes were lifted by the Marionette Soldiers, checking for hidden weapons. As the dying Starlight faded, Seluvis saw a pair of sturdy legs. When did Sellen's legs turn black?
Doubt gnawed at him. The mage, supposedly suppressed, exploded.
A puppet's strength could hold an ordinary person. Not Thorne. He possessed a knight's veteran strength. He used his waist, throwing the puppets from his back. A hard kick sent the last one flying. Momentum carried him forward. A tiger's leap, five meters.
Seluvis reacted instantly, staff raised. Crystal Burst. Water Cannon.
Life and death. He cast aside any thought of capture. Sellen was moments from becoming a sieve. Then, on the second step, she vanished. Bloodhound's Step. In and out of existence, magic crystals and water cannon blasts whipped past. He landed silently, right palm touching the ring on his left hand. Particles shimmered. He clenched a white hilt tight. Hidden, then manifest, the particles reformed into a long blade. Snow-white light lingered in the night. An arc.
Star-frost Unsheathe! A diagonal slash cut through falling leaves, the blade tearing through robes—
Clang!
Iron on iron. Thorne's wrist shook. His deep blue pupils narrowed. The blade struck Seluvis's waist, slicing open the airtight robes. Sparks flew. Spiderweb cracks appeared. Seluvis—
A puppet!?
Time seemed to freeze. The hard impact on his wrist. Thorne's eyes shrunk. He brushed past, hit the ground with his back, and rolled. Bang! Bang! Bang!
High-pressure water cannon blasts followed. No armor. Flying stones left purple bruises. Thorne didn't utter a sound. He kicked off the ground, twisting his waist for a back-slash. Frost Slash! An arc of ice mist met the water column, freezing it in mid-air. He slid, crouched, and slowly raised his head. Met Seluvis's gaze.
"It's you!?" the magic professor growled, his arm trembling.
The battle replayed in his mind: from swapping identities to lure him away, to using a corpse to draw him to the cliff edge, using his own Starlight to hide the Magic Sigil, and finally the active charge and capture. From the beginning, this brat had exploited his desire to capture Sellen alive, disabling the iron knight and luring him into attack range, all for that final killing blow. Each step linked to the next; 'despicable' was no longer enough to describe it.
"I have to admit, your little tricks are quite interesting. Even Oritis would have met his end here."
Seluvis clapped. A performance for himself. "Surely you don't think I became the head of the Lazuli Classroom just through flattery?"
Thorne was silent. He knew Seluvis possessed skills. Otherwise, that mouth would have earned him expulsion long ago. The strongest puppeteer needed an advantage. Modifying a mage's weak body was ideal. "A weakling like you, once your despicable little tricks are exposed, doesn't even have the right to stand before me."
Seluvis ceased clapping. His killing intent was a palpable chill. He waved a hand. "Not talking? Then die!"
The Marionette Soldiers rose, bows drawn. The Jar-man morphed into a grenadier. Fetid Pots exploded, unleashing a vile stench. The Lobster-headed Puppet fired water cannons, guarding Seluvis from afar. Firepower blanketed the area. The spreading poison was unstoppable for swordsmanship. Thorne retreated, listening to Seluvis's shrill laughter. His mind raced.
The sneak attack had failed. Time for Plan B.
He paused, back to the cliff. He surveyed the scene, the knight's corpse, and then he sprinted forward.
Whoosh.
Thorne ran fast, inhaled deeply, and plunged into the poisonous mist. The Witch's Glintstone Crown provided scant protection, but his exposed skin already stung. Looking up, the three Marionette Soldiers dropped their bows, gripped scimitars, and pounced. Fire Pots rained down. Puppets didn't fear poison or fire. They felt no pain.
A mature tactic. Thorne stepped directly into the flames, ignoring his burning robes. He leaned back as the Marionette Soldiers approached. A sliding tackle! Scimitars sliced the ground past his hair. He slid behind them; four more blades flashed, ready. He kicked out, striking the second Marionette Soldier's shin. Bang! The hundred-odd-pound puppet fell. Thorne rolled away; a blade missed his cheek by inches, slicing off a piece of his crown.
Thorne still didn't say a word. He stabbed his long blade into the puppet's waist. Before it could turn, he gripped the sword with both hands and hoisted it. Bang! A water column slammed the puppet's back. Parts exploded, scattering before Thorne. He saw the falling scimitar and delivered a snap kick. Swish—Clink! The spinning scimitar flew toward Seluvis's face. The lobster puppet raised its pincer.
Sparks erupted as the shattered scimitar spun. Thorne's eyes narrowed. He saw something. No time to dwell. Two puppets, one ahead, one behind, descended with eight scimitars. Their joints contorted, a sickening 270 degrees. Beyond human. But Thorne knew their weakness. Mass-produced puppets: no intelligence. Every action, a delay. Bloodhound's Step! The blades met only air. The puppets, as expected, hesitated. No instinct.
Thorne reappeared meters away. First, a kick sent a Lightning Pot flying. Then, a horizontal slash. Frost Slash! Ice mist bloomed, freezing the puppets' joints. They tried to turn, to pursue, but couldn't. Frozen. Simultaneously, a water cannon detonated the Lightning Pot. Brilliant electric light flooded a hundred-meter radius. A light blue figure burst from the poison mist, sprinting forward. "How did he do that?" Seluvis's eyes bulged. A Marionette Soldier's proximity meant death for an ordinary mage.
Even without the mist and cannons, a Cuckoo Knight would struggle against three. This kid... bizarre. Seluvis couldn't compute the vision, the intuition. He raised his staff. Carian Phalanx. Ten glintswords materialized. Humiliated, angry, Seluvis waved a hand. "You flea, let's see you dodge this!" Whoosh, whoosh... The glintswords launched, one after another. Not Sellen's speed, but faster than most lecturers. Thorne breathed hard, calculating.
If I Bloodhound's Step, the water cannon shreds me. Dodge, and Seluvis's next spell is Magic Downpour? Unsolvable. Cheap mage tactics. Thorne quickened his pace, charging toward the glintswords. His long blade leveled before his chest. Thop's Barrier! A teal Magic Sigil shimmered. The glintswords, blocking all escape, struck the barrier. Their aim shattered. Wild, erratic flight, like Brownian motion. Trees snapped. Amidst the chaos, Thorne charged, a thunderbolt.
"What magic is that?" Seluvis recoiled, pondering the unique magical aura.