Chapter 29: What Kind of Magic Is This?

The three black-armored knights shared identical descriptions. Were it not for their differing weapons, it would have been difficult to tell them apart. One held a heater shield and a mace; another wielded a two-handed greatsword; the last gripped a single-edged longaxe.

Their mere presence imposed a heavy sense of oppression upon the caravan. They stood like three iron monsters.

Bennett, the captain of the guards, wore a grave expression, his brows tightly locked. His palm rubbed against the hilt of his sword as he calculated his odds against the trio. His heart sank with every passing second.

In a one-on-one fight, he was confident he could avoid defeat for a short while, but victory would be difficult; it depended entirely on the disparity in equipment. That black heavy armor was clearly of masterwork quality; he doubted his longsword could penetrate it. Yet, if he were to take a single hit from them, he would either be dead or crippled. And there were three of these black-armored knights!

Worse still, they significantly outnumbered his men. This was destined to be a brutal, uphill battle.

"Captain Bennett, leave those three to me. Take your men and deal with the crossbowmen," Wang Xi said in a low, firm voice to the captain.

Not only Bennett, but White, who was hiding behind the carriage, and the rest of the guards were stunned. Daring to face those three black-armored knights alone! *Are you trying to get yourself killed, you handsome fool?!*

Before Bennett could respond, he saw the black-haired youth charge forward with his longsword in hand.

"Polk, take two men and follow me!" Bennett gritted his teeth and barked an order. There were over a dozen crossbowmen; if left unchecked, their next volley would inflict significant casualties on the caravan.

At that moment, the black-armored knight with the longaxe roared in a muffled, guttural voice: "Kill everyone in the Spinning Wheel Caravan!"

As he finished shouting, he saw through the slits in his visor a young, black-haired guard charging straight toward him. He could not help but curl his lips into a cruel smile. This kind of seemingly brave, actually reckless little fellow was his favorite target. He tightened his gauntleted grip on the axe handle, eager to cleave the boy’s skull open.

"Turk, Donovan, this brat is mine! Don't you dare fight me for him!"

"Ha, nobody is fighting you for him, Ruhl," the other black-armored knight with the greatsword chuckled. "The guard captain over there is mine—"

*Bip—*

A flash of red light, followed by a metallic *clang*.

Before the greatsword-wielding knight could finish his sentence, his head tilted, and he collapsed stiffly backward.

*Thud!*

His greatsword clattered to the ground beside him.

"?! "

Ruhl and Donovan were stunned for a moment, then their faces changed drastically, filled with terror. They saw Turk, their fellow "Iron-Finger Knight," lying motionless on the ground. A round, perfectly clean hole had appeared on the side of his dog-faced helmet, the edges glowing red like molten iron. Unstoppable blood seeped through the helmet's seams, pooling behind his head in a stark, crimson stain.

Dead? Turk was just... dead? That dog-faced helmet, capable of easily blocking crossbow bolts, had been pierced through. What had happened?

Ruhl and Donovan turned their heads. The young black-haired guard stood ten meters away, his left hand holding his longsword, his right hand gripping a strange black box, which he was now aiming in their direction.

*Bip—*

A beam of red light erupted from the black box.

*Clang!!*

Donovan didn't even have time to raise his heater shield before his body shuddered. He stumbled back two steps, looked down, and saw a hole with scorched, glowing red edges in his own black plate armor—exactly the same as the one on Turk's helmet.

"Hrk... hrk!" Donovan tried to speak, but all the strength in his body seemed to have been drained away, and a sharp, twisting pain erupted in his heart.

*Clatter!*

Like Turk, he collapsed backward, twitched a few times, and went still.

"What kind of magic is this?!" Ruhl was instantly overcome with fear. He retreated repeatedly, clutching his longaxe, a hissing roar escaping from beneath his dog-faced helmet.

His shout drew the attention of both sides. When they saw two black-armored knights already lying in pools of blood and the last one trembling in retreat, everyone was struck with inexplicable shock.

Captain Bennett kicked a crossbowman away and pulled his sword from the man's chest, drawing a spray of blood. He turned to see this scene, his pupils constricting. *Magic?*

He looked toward Gai, his expression one of confusion and awe. *That young noble can use magic!*

White, the caravan manager, peeked out, dumbfounded. Godaril, who had obediently hidden in the carriage as Gai had warned, also stared blankly through the curtain's gap. *So Gai's magic is this powerful!*

"The guards of the Spinning Wheel Caravan cannot possibly use magic!" Ruhl had retreated to the side of his own men, seemingly regaining a bit of courage, and shouted in a deep voice. "I have never seen a wizard so young! Who exactly are you?!"

"Gai Farrell of Rendall," Wang Xi thought for a moment before saying calmly.

He had never used the laser pistol before, so he had deliberately closed the distance to ensure accuracy. Although he had been mentally prepared, the pistol's power far exceeded his expectations; it pierced the heavy armor in one shot, securing an instant kill. His confidence bolstered, he continued, "Alright, enough chatter. You members of the 'Finger Society,' you can go die now..."

Ruhl froze, then was seized by terror. *This man actually knows who we are!* He really was a wizard capable of divination! No wonder he knew there was an ambush here and had shot one of the crossbowmen first!

*It's over! It's completely over!*

"Lord Gai, spare us!"

"Avada Kedavra—"

Ignoring the black-armored knight's plea, Wang Xi intentionally chanted nonsense and pulled the trigger.

*Bip!*

A red "magical lightning" bolt streaked past, leaving a blinding trail in everyone's vision. Immediately after, they saw a hole appear in the black-armored knight's visor, and he collapsed backward.

*Thud!*

The entire field was in an uproar.

"Run! Run for it!!"

Those "Finger Society" ambushers dropped their weapons and fled, having completely lost their will to fight. They scrambled into the woods, more terrified than if they had seen a ghost. How could they fight this? Their three "Iron-Finger Knight" masters hadn't even touched a hair on the opponent's head before being killed in an instant!

The high-ranking members of the "Finger Society" had paid a fortune for that refined black armor from the Anvil Brotherhood, but in the face of that terrifying red lightning, it was no better than paper. Facing such a fearsome wizard, they only wished they had grown more legs to run faster.

"Imperio—"

"Crucio—"

"Avada Kedavra—"

"Expelliarmus—"

Wang Xi maintained a cold, stoic expression, muttering pseudo-intimidating "spells" as his strangely shaped "wand" continued to erupt with scarlet "lightning." One by one, armored enemies collapsed in the forest, their screams of terror and pleas to their parents filling the air. Wang Xi targeted only those enemies whose entries reached one star; he didn't pay much attention to the rest.

The prompts from Chaos kept appearing in his mind.

*Yes, yes!*

He selected 'yes' to all of them. The white lights that only he could see flew from the forest and merged into his brow. Three green orbs of light from the three black-armored knights were also captured.

"Whew..."

Wang Xi finally lowered his "wand." He feigned exhaustion and let out a long breath. He secretly glanced at the pistol's battery; there were three bars left, the color having shifted from green to yellow.

He hadn't wiped out all the enemies. His marksmanship was limited, and there were indeed too many of them to manage, so the remaining dozen or so lucky ones escaped.

*A total harvest of 3 green cards and 6 white cards.*

Wang Xi checked the results in his mind, feeling satisfied.

At that moment, he noticed the surroundings had grown quiet, the atmosphere strangely eerie. He turned to look at the caravan members. Everyone was staring at him, wide-eyed, none of them speaking.

Captain Bennett opened his mouth but ended up just coughing. The other guards didn't even dare to draw a full breath, including the two who had been shot and fallen; they shivered and endured their pain in silence. They seemed terrified that Gai, having worked himself into a killing frenzy, might recite another "Avada Kedavra" and start a massacre.

They couldn't help but be afraid... This was a cold-blooded, ruthless "Ice-Heart Man"! He had suffered an episode not long ago!

Manager White stepped out from behind the carriage. He adjusted his crooked hat and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Lord... Gai, I never imagined you were such a noble wizard." White approached Wang Xi and bowed respectfully. Then, he said cautiously, "Thank you for intervening. You saved my life and preserved this important shipment for the Spinning Wheel Trading Company. Otherwise, the guard team alone would truly not have been a match for those attackers."

"Thank you for your intervention, Lord Gai."

At that moment, Captain Bennett also stepped forward, resting his hand on his sword hilt, placing his hand over his chest, and bowing in a knightly salute. His gratitude was sincere, as was his respect for the strong. The other guards exchanged glances and followed Captain Bennett in saluting and thanking the black-haired youth.

Wang Xi was stunned at first, then waved his hand dismissively. "No need for that. Mr. White paid me 20 gold coins to hire me; this is my duty."

Hearing this, Manager White was deeply moved. The figure of the young wizard before him seemed to grow taller. "You are truly a noble and oath-keeping man, Lord Gai."

White said this, then gritted his teeth. "When we return to the Royal Capital, I will provide you with 200 gold coins as a token of my gratitude. I hope you will not refuse."

*Oh?* Wang Xi hadn't expected such a stroke of luck and was surprised. After a moment of thought, he realized the man was trying to take the opportunity to build a relationship with him and befriend a powerful figure for the Spinning Wheel Trading Company. Since he needed a foothold in the Royal Capital and a way to solve his curse, having more friends meant more paths to follow, so he smiled. "Then I thank you, Mr. White."

"You're welcome, Lord Gai." White finally breathed a sigh of relief and revealed a smile.

At that moment, Godaril also stepped down from the carriage and walked silently to Wang Xi's side. Her eyes were shimmering with admiration. But before she could speak, a figure suddenly darted out from the woods nearby.

"Whoa! What a tragic battle!"

Everyone followed the voice. It was an elderly man with white hair, wearing a wine-red tight-fitting tunic, a deep green cloak, and a brown soft cap. His collar, cuffs, and pant legs were embroidered with tassels, and several vibrant feathers were tucked into the brim of his cap. By his appearance, he was clearly a bard.

Wang Xi's eyes narrowed. *The mysterious bard who appeared in the seclusion preview...*

According to the original trajectory, this was the person who would save the dying Godaril and help her master magic.

Wang Xi looked closely—

Above the bard's head, a description surrounded by bronze patterns emerged:

[Wood Nymph · Bettina (Pale Green/Four Stars)]