Chapter Forty-Six: An Explosive Confrontation

Everyone in the village knew that Tina had absolutely no talent for magic. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have failed even the most basic magical affinity test! Yet, after disappearing for some time, this ordinary girl with no magical talent had returned as a mage? No one could comprehend such a thing, so they could only attribute it to a miracle.

The village chief’s men were terrified. They could handle ordinary people, but a mage? Even the lowest-ranked magic apprentice could effortlessly kill with basic spells! And even if they managed to subdue a magic apprentice through sheer numbers, was it wise to provoke whoever had the power to turn a talentless child like Tina into a mage?

What truly frightened them wasn’t Tina’s small fireball, but the “high-ranking archmage” who could teach her such magic. Little did they know, no such archmage existed.

“What are you afraid of?” The village chief himself felt uneasy, but having already locked Tina’s parents in the dungeon, there was no turning back. If he backed down and released them now, he’d lose all authority in the village! No matter how Tina became a magic apprentice, the fact that she returned with a foreigner meant she’d surely been taught by a foreign archmage.

The Empire of Majestic Gale was infamously xenophobic! If the foreigners dared to resist, he could always appeal layer by layer up the chain of command. With the entire empire behind him, what did he have to fear? With this in mind, he shouted, “She’s just a magic apprentice, not a real mage! We act according to the laws of the Majestic Gale Empire—if any foreigner dares interfere, they’ll face the full might of our empire’s justice! Seize Tina, and all unrelated persons, clear out! Anyone who stays will be treated as an accomplice and executed without mercy!”

At those words, the villagers scattered at once, quickly making way for a wide open space, terrified of being seen as accomplices.

Amber, too, instinctively wanted to flee, but after a moment’s hesitation, he picked up his spear and stopped.

“Amber, hurry and go!” Tina, seeing her good friend hadn’t moved, anxiously called out to him, “This is our own problem—don’t get caught up in it!”

“Tina! We’re best friends, remember? You promised not to forget me when you made it big!” Amber shouted back. “I may not be that strong, but I’m a qualified warrior! I want to earn the respect of the lord at your side, become a follower like you, and live a good life!”

Hearing this, Tina could say nothing more. “Just be careful!”

On the other side, the strongmen who’d received the chief’s orders mustered their courage. The empire’s exclusionary laws reassured them—no matter how mighty foreign nobles were, under the empire’s might, they’d have to bow their noble heads! Without hesitation, they surrounded Jia Zhengjin, Tina, Wolf, and Amber, raising their sharp spears.

“Stay back!” To win the noble lord’s favor, Amber decided to prove his strength. Brandishing his spear, he attacked the strongman nearest Tina, thrusting straight at his face.

But the man was far stronger than Amber. With a flick, he sent Amber’s spear flying, then grinned viciously and jabbed his own spear at Amber’s throat.

“Fireball!” Tina acted just in time. The scorching sphere struck the strongman’s hand, setting it ablaze. With a shriek, he dropped to the ground and frantically doused the flames with sand.

Amber seized the chance to recover his spear, only to find himself surrounded by three or four strongmen. Meanwhile, several others had already closed in on Tina.

“Tina, your parents are in my hands!” Seeing another fireball form in Tina’s palm, the fat chief shouted, “If you dare resist, you’ll bear the consequences!”

Tina hesitated instantly—she dared not risk it.

As the fireball vanished from Tina’s hand, the chief glanced smugly at the two foreigners, certain they’d been cowed by the empire’s laws: “That’s better! Come home and marry me like a good girl—won’t being my wife make you happy? I’ll certainly treat you well~~”

Jia Zhengjin had been observing the whole scene, not understanding a word of their conversation. But when the fight broke out and Tina hesitated to act after something the fat old man said, looking troubled, he realized some trick was at play. Moreover, the old lecher’s eyes kept ogling Tina, stoking his silent fury. “Wolf, take them all down! How dare they ogle my precious Tina in broad daylight!”

At his master’s order, the werewolf grinned savagely. “Understood!”

A moment later, the strongman behind the “foreign noble” let go of the triceratops’ reins and stepped forward, cracking his knuckles and taking a fighting stance. The fat chief was momentarily taken aback. “What do you think you’re doing? I’ll have you know, the laws of the Majestic Gale Empire forbid foreigners from bullying any of our citizens! If you dare lay a hand on us, you’ll bring disaster upon your country! Don’t court trouble over some country girl!”

But Wolf, like Jia Zhengjin, understood not a word of the local tongue. He simply curled his lips, and without even shifting into werewolf form, smashed his fist into the nearest strongman with his bare human hands.

With a thunderous crash, the man was sent flying, rolling a dozen meters before crashing into a nearby animal pen, where several docile herbivorous creatures swarmed over and began licking him furiously.

The other strongmen were petrified with fear. Though they were burly, none of them could send a man flying a dozen meters with one punch. This foreigner was terrifying!

“Outrageous!” The chief’s legs were shaking, but seeing his men were terrified, he clung desperately to his last bargaining chips—Tina’s parents and the laws of the empire. “Hear me! If you dare act up again, Tina’s parents will not survive! At my command, they will surely die!”

Tina, upon hearing this, instantly clutched Jia Zhengjin’s sleeve in fear.

“Tina, what did that old man say?” Jia Zhengjin asked, confused.

“Papa, Mama…” Tina had never learned how to say her parents were kidnapped, so she could only mention them simply, gazing at Jia Zhengjin with worry.

Fortunately, Jia Zhengjin understood her instantly: “Your parents are in his hands? How despicable~~”