The cry of the twin-footed flying dragon echoed in the sky above, Asa looked up to see two shadows that seemed only as big as bats slowly circling around him.

  Asa Akira is not good. Leaving the troops, a lone rider is undoubtedly an excellent target for attack. When he just left the general's troops, he was careful to hide his tracks in the woods as much as possible, but these days he hasn't seen any signs of the two-legged flying dragon, and unexpectedly encountered one when approaching Brakada, and it was two.

  One of the two-legged flying dragons began to dive towards him. In the blink of an eye, the dragon's shadow grew larger under the sunlight, and even with dozens of meters away, the pungent wind could be felt. The horse Asa was riding became restless and startled.

  Although he wasn't actually a scout for the Imperial Army, it seemed there was no time to explain. Asa carefully watched the trajectory of the flying dragon's dive and seized the opportunity to throw out a fireball.

  His timing was excellent, accurately calculating the frequency of the flying dragon's flapping wings and its diving momentum. This kind of timing is something that no magician can match, only a warrior has this feeling cultivated through close combat. And only with low-level spells like fireballs can be instantly condensed and released. This is why Asa always liked to use basic spells, without needing incantations or magical resonance, simple and direct, able to seize the opportunity to attack at any time. Moreover, the power of his fireball was not something that any low-level magician could compare with, it was enough to be a high-level attacking magic, even such a huge monster couldn't withstand one hit.

  Just as the fireball was about to hit the flying dragon's chest, it suddenly seemed to be deflected by an invisible hand and changed its trajectory. The fireball brushed past the two-legged flying dragon, which appeared to have been startled, let out a cry, flapped its wings, and flew back into the high sky.

  Before Asa could even react, he saw another scene that shocked him. A small black dot suddenly separated from a bat-like shadow in the high sky and began to fall down. Of course, it was not a real bat, but a giant two-legged flying dragon's shadow in the high sky, and the separated black dot seemed like a person. That person actually jumped off from thousands of meters high with elegance.

  This person obviously didn't use any landing deceleration magic like 'Ling Kong Fei Jiang', as they fell faster and faster, getting closer to the ground. In their rapid descent, they had already become a blurry black shadow, making it impossible to discern what kind of person they were. Asa was stunned by this sight - from such a great height, even if this person was made of tempered steel, they would only end up as a pile of wreckage on the rocky ground. If they were flesh and blood, the result would be no different from that of a watermelon or tomato.

  Asha hadn't finished being shocked when the black shadow had already landed on the ground not far in front.

  A deafening crash shook the earth. It was as if the entire wilderness had been shaken by this impact, with rocks flying everywhere and a huge crater collapsing like brittle bread on the rocky surface. Asa stood there, stunned, staring at the dust-filled sky in front of him, taking several steps back before regaining his footing. This seemed to be a bolt of lightning from the ninth heaven, plummeting down with the wrath of God and the power of the gods.

  "If you don't want to die, stand there and don't move." The voice was not loud, but cold and majestic, like the mighty force that had just fallen from the sky. In the center of the smoky pit, a figure slowly stood up from a half-crouching position.

  "Is that you?" The smoke dispersed, and the man who descended from the sky stepped onto the ground, recognizing Asa. His tall and slightly slender body was as if it were a perfect sculpture condensed from countless essences, elegant yet with a resolute face that had distinct contours.

  Asa nodded slowly: "I should have expected it, the one who can come down like this, should be and can only be you." Even if he couldn't remember his appearance, he would never forget that almost invincible aura and demeanor. That was General Gru, commander of all beastman troops in Europe.

  On the back of the two-legged flying dragon, Asa listened to the sound of the wind whistling in his ears. The trees below looked like small blades of grass, and the horse he was riding had become as small as an insect. With a glance, the vast wilderness seemed to be within sight. Asa sat on a specially made frame, reached out and touched the back of the two-legged flying dragon, which was covered in large scales like those of a lizard, and could feel the incredibly powerful muscles moving beneath. Although he knew he couldn't afford it, he couldn't help but ask: "Riding this thing is exhilarating, can you sell me one?"

  "In three years, more than a dozen lizardmen's lives, and who knows how much effort and resources were spent, just to tame four of them. How much do you think each one is worth?" General Gru said concisely.

  "How can such a treasure like Sedelos be sold? It's truly unparalleled in its role as transportation and reconnaissance, even the most skilled air mages' flight techniques can't compare to this large winged creature. And in terms of combat power, I'm afraid even ten Griffin Lions wouldn't be able to match it." The old man sitting in front of Asa said. Asa could tell that this old man's mastery of air magic was very high. He sat at the front, and even in such rapid flight, the wind speed around him didn't make people's eyes unable to open, and everyone's voices were heard clearly.

  A middle-aged man next to Asa said, "The young man's magic is quite good. A casual fireball has such a big power," he pointed to the old man behind him. "Just now, if Teacher hadn't acted quickly, Mr. Sedros' treasure would have been ruined."

  "Oh?" Asa was slightly surprised and asked: "So you few are....."

  "We are all magicians of the Ivory Tower." The middle-aged man also pointed to a few people on another two-legged flying dragon and replied, "Young man, are you from the Aynfarth Empire? Your attire looks like that of someone from the Magic Academy."

  "For the time being, I'm a cleric in the army." Asa replied, glancing at these few magicians. 'Ivory Spire' was a place similar to a magician's guild in the southwestern religious nation of the empire. Unlike the Magic Academy, which was purely a civilian organization unrelated to the state, it was full of high-level elemental mages who were very famous among adventurers.

  "The magic of young people is quite flavorful. Are you interested in coming over and studying it with us?" the middle-aged man said to Asa.

  "Don't dig randomly at the corner. Such a promising young man, he must be a disciple of Bishop Ronis." The old man said. "However, young man, haven't you been to our place before? I seem to have seen your face somewhere..."

  "Huh? You must be mistaken. I look very ordinary, and many people look like me." Asa brushed it off vaguely. He knew this was definitely the effect of the Elf tribe's wanted order.

  The journey that originally took several days was shortened to less than half a day under the high speed of the Double-Footed Flying Dragon. Asa also saw the troops led by the general on the way, looking like a large group of ants from high above. By dusk, the two Double-Footed Flying Dragons had brought them all the way to Oufu.

  Cedric warmly welcomed the few magicians and was delighted to greet them, and was also surprised when he saw Asa.

  "I saw a lone soldier and thought of capturing him to interrogate about the situation of that unit, but instead I was captured by him," said General Gru.

  After hearing Asa's words, Sedros shook his head regretfully and said: "I didn't expect it to be such a situation. A person's emotional loss of control led to such consequences. It's just a pity for those 5,000 innocent young soldiers."

  "It's not like they're innocent either," Asa said. He now had an unspoken revulsion towards the fervor of those warriors. "They came here of their own accord."

  "Don't say that. Young people don't understand how to see the essence of things clearly, so it's easy for them to be misled by others and blinded by emotions. It's really a pity to seek death for such unnecessary reasons."

  The old magician who was in charge asked, "Is that why you invited us here? But you can't think that just a few air magicians like us can stop 5,000 soldiers."

  "Not to stop." Sedros corrected himself with a helpless smile. "It's to kill them. People who are driven mad by anger and hatred, even if we spare their lives and let them go, will only spread more hatred. This emotion has no benefit for anyone." He took a deep breath and summarized again. "So, for the sake of long-term peace, we must kill them all." He turned to look at Asa. "This is our decision, but I still want to ask you... what do you think we should do?"

  Asa frowned in thought, only feeling an unparalleled sense of annoyance, shook her head and sighed, saying softly: "Kill you all."

  "What exactly do you want to do?" an air magician asked.

  Cedros pulled something out of his pocket. It was a round piece of glass, thick in the middle and gradually thinner towards the edges. "This was given to me by a dwarf craftsman before, it's really a wonderful thing, I've discovered some interesting phenomena on this." He looked up at the sky and said, "The next two days will be windless and sunny."

  Asa and several magicians faced each other, unsure of what he wanted to say.

  The next day.

  Nice weather.

  The general looked up at the dazzling sun. It was a good day for battle, the fresh air of the plateau and the scorching sunlight on his skin would make the hot-blooded warriors even more excited and brave. The beastman city called Oufu was not far away.

  Since that night, the beastmen have been completely quiet, and the two-legged flying dragon has only appeared occasionally in the sky. The soldiers are even more morale-boosted because of the cowardice of these beastmen. Although the general knows that there should be a turbulent undercurrent behind this calmness, he just "knows" it, but his dead heart will not be distracted by other things. He only wants to charge and fight, hear the beastmen's wailing, feel those furs and bones breaking under his axe, shattering, and die gloriously. These are all that his spirit has invested in. When he chose this path, he knew he could no longer turn back, and he never considered victory or defeat, nor did he consider the fate of these 5,000 soldiers.

  "In front of us is a small squad of beastmen." As they marched on, the soldier at the very front discovered the target and immediately reported it.

  "Soldiers, the time has come to show our courage and swords for our honor and the hatred of our nation. Kill them all."

  The soldiers responded with a beast-like roar and charged forward like a pack of starving wolves.

  That small detachment of beastmen began to flee, but they ran very slowly. The soldiers shouted as they chased after them, gradually catching up on a flat plain, in front of which stood a mountain ridge unique to the desolate highlands, with no connecting peaks, just a large boulder that rose straight up from the ground.

  The sky suddenly darkened, and the dazzling sunlight suddenly disappeared from view. The general looked up and saw that a large area of the sky above was shrouded in a huge shadow. It wasn't a cloud, nor any other tangible thing, it was just pure shadow. The general had never seen anything so strange before. One edge of the shadow leaned against the giant boulder in front, looking as if it were a weird and oversized hat on top of the mountain.

  In the midst of the soldiers' spirited shouting, a scream at the limit of human endurance suddenly appeared. The sharpness of this scream cut through even the passionate battle cries.

  This voice didn't carry the slightest hint of any other emotional connotation, as if it was just a scream for the sake of screaming, an instinctual scream that seemed to rip its own body apart. As soon as this sound pierced the ears of its fellow kind, it would immediately stir up instinctual fear, and even the general was no exception. The general turned his head and saw an unbelievable scene.

  A dazzling circular light screen wandered among the group of soldiers in the back. All flammable objects within the range of the light screen ignited instantly, including the soldiers' hair, leather armor, boots, belts, clothes, and even skin... However, these flames looked completely powerless, almost invisible. Even dark objects in that dazzling light screen reflected sharp highlights, drowning out the color of the flames.

  The air was already filled with a burning smell. Everyone stared at the dazzling light in horror, trying to make out what it was, but it was just light, pure light. From the huge shadow in the sky, a funnel-shaped light curtain gradually narrowed down, and then the tip of the funnel fell on the soldiers' bodies.

  Sunlight. That's all a soldier can feel under this funnel of light.

  The light that once shone on all things, giving warmth and life, is now so intense. Even closing one's eyes and covering them with one's hands cannot withstand it, the soldiers' eyes were instantly blinded, as if they had already received enough of the light they should have enjoyed in this life.

  This unbearable radiance directly penetrated their bodies. All the nerve endings on their skin were boiling, twitching, and aching under this light, with an intense pain that was sharp enough to pierce through their souls, making them scream and howl with all the remaining strength in their lives. Then they smelled the charred smell emitted from their own bodies and heard the cracking sound of their muscles bursting like fried beans under high temperature.

  The sun, which had always been a friendly and familiar object, suddenly filled everyone present with terror. It was only then that they realized the enormous size of this everyday visible sphere, its divine power beyond measure. All things seemed incredibly weak in the face of this heavenly wrath: human bodies, horses, objects were all reduced to an indistinguishable black mass after the brilliant light had passed, except for some swords which still glowed red hot from the heat they had just received.

  The soldiers' morale and courage, which had just been high, instantly disappeared under the mysterious and unpredictable heavenly power, leaving only fear. They began to scatter and flee, but the light curtain enveloped them at an incredible speed, burning and scorching them.

  The general was furious, he let out a meaningless roar. He couldn't be afraid to retreat, so he could only turn all his emotions into fierce anger and fighting spirit. He swung his axe and charged forward towards the two hills in front of him, where he saw several figures, those were the ones who had been causing trouble, he wanted to go over there and use his own anger to turn these troublemakers into pulp.

  But he was also bathed in this unparalleled glory, and immediately before his eyes all was dark; he could hear two faint explosions coming from the sockets of his eyes.

  The intense pain that should have exceeded the limits of human endurance could not conceal his fierce fighting spirit, he continued to shout and charge forward, but he could already hear his robust muscles rapidly withering away, making a crackling explosive sound.

  I want to die like a warrior... he thought crazily. But even this last seemingly unyielding idea was shattered by the radiance. With a 'plop', his head burst open, and boiling brain matter, eyeballs, and blood spurted out of his body, then immediately turned into a charred black mass along with his corpse. He fell over.

  The last body still in motion fell to the ground, turning black. With a crash of air striking the sky, the shadow disappeared and the light screen also disappeared. The desolate highlands returned to calmness, and the sun again scattered its radiance impartially over every part of the earth, including that charred land.

  Ah Sa stood on the mountain top, looking down at the twisted and charred bodies below. The blackened limbs looked like burnt tree branches, except for the withered black heads that revealed white teeth, making it clear what they were. Just a few minutes ago, there were five thousand young people full of life and energy, shouting with high morale.

  Those few minutes of wailing made those who heard it unforgettable. It was the most mournful and painful sound that a living being could make.

  The air was filled with the smell of char, and Asa knew that even if he were to eat insects in the wild, drink raw blood, or swallow live animals whole, he probably wouldn't be eating barbecue for a very long time from now on.

  Sedros, standing in the center of the magic circle, lowered his hands which had been raised for a long time and let out a weak sigh, unsure if it was controlling this magic that left him exhausted.

  "It's truly remarkable, being able to combine the air magic of so many people together to control the airflow." A younger magician looked at the magic circle under his feet and sighed in admiration. "And also being able to manipulate it freely, using the airflow to create refracted light to injure people, this is really too creative. Truly a masterpiece."

  Cedros snorted, looking down at his work on the ground with disdain, shaking his head. His voice was full of fatigue: "It's just a tool for killing, nothing remarkable."

  "Brilliant! Brilliant!" A round of warm applause erupted from the bony hands of several necromancers.

  A necromancer carefully examined the magical array in the crystal ball, exclaiming: "Impressive, it can be considered for the annual most creative magic award. I wonder whether to categorize it as light magic or air magic."

  "With just the sun, he's killed 5,000 people. This old man is even more ruthless than us. We at least need to use magic to throw it on people, but he can do it with just air pressure." Another necromancer said with a raised eyebrow.

  "That magic circle is drawn well, and controlled even better. Although controlling the wind pressure is a small trick in itself, it's not like anyone can control it as perfectly as he does. However... with this method, isn't it that no army can be an enemy of his city-state?"

  "That's just bullying the team that doesn't have a magician, as long as someone can see through this trick and use air magic to interfere. However, those academy faction's stubborn magicians are indeed hard to see through."

  "Hey, hey, hey. Everyone saw that, indeed not a single beastman died." A somewhat spirited necromancer applauded and drew everyone's attention. "Give two points to the virtuous lady Vedrina and that gentleman. And... let's celebrate our upcoming two new members. This is a rare grand occasion in Deya Valley in a hundred years."