225 – Go All Out—Level 3

Eric, Lyria, and Livy sat in the garden of the guesthouse with a nice, white round table between them.

They were "delightfully" drinking their afternoon tea after having a light lunch, as they had been quite hungry after conquering the market during their morning shopping spree.

They all had tranquil and relaxed smiles on their attractive faces. After all, it had been a long time since they were completely alone and in a safe place. The last time was when they stayed on the Heart-Shaped Island.

Puchi, resting a little further away, was sleeping peacefully. She had finished her meal and was waiting to once again rise high into the sky and fly toward the endless horizon.

The trio excitedly conversed about the various incidents they had experienced since leaving Ringwood Town, chuckling over the memories. It had been quite some time since they left their hometown, and they still found every new day and experience incredibly interesting and exciting.

While they were having the time of their lives, all three of them suddenly paused.

Their eyelids couldn't help but twitch continuously.

Puchi woke up and screeched in panic. Lyria quickly stood up and walked over to appease her, reassuring the bird that everything was fine.

Puchi was very old and didn't have long to live, but she was a very energetic and enthusiastic bird. However, she was no warrior who could fight or kill things; she just wished to fly. Due to her old age, she couldn’t handle a Master Rank's pressure or presence. Although the current release of presence was very far away, Puchi still couldn't help but panic.

After soothing Puchi enough until she calmed down, Lyria came back and sat in her chair.

Eric couldn't help but exhale deeply with displeasure, "Just when we are relaxing and enjoying our vacation, someone has to come along and disturb us."

Livy smiled bitterly, playing with her long, colorful hair as she corrected Eric, "I think they have already been disturbing us for nearly half an hour now..."

All three of them once again sighed with depression.

Since twenty or so minutes ago, they had been hearing loud fighting noises coming from the main gate of the estate. Even though it was quite far from their location, the noises were so loud that they could hear them clearly.

Eric didn't budge or go to help Brunhild's family, as he simply wanted to enjoy his peace for a few days and avoid anything as dangerous as fighting or killing. And since Eric wanted to act like a Saint, of course, both of his bodyguards effectively became Saintesses.

Thus, they all ignored those scary noises echoing in the background and continued to enjoy their top-grade tea.

Either way, they were just Rank 1 kids; what could they possibly do? Brunhild's family had quite a few Apprentice Ranks, including Rank 3s; they could totally handle the heat.

But now, things had gone too far!

Eric stared at both girls in front of him with deep suspicion in his eyes. "Tell me honestly, and don’t dare hide the truth from me! Are you two girls the protagonists or the main heroines of this world or something? Let me tell you, I only take in villains! The evil guys!"

After all, only protagonists go through so much constant turmoil, while villains get to live the most carefree lives.

Lyria and Livy were alarmed.

Lyria's body shook as if her lies had been caught, and she stammered, "W-what do you mean, B-Brother Eric? I-I don't understand..."

Eric snorted, and after taking a sip of his tea, he sneered, "Think about it! Since the beginning, whichever place we visit, every village faces extinction, and currently Batley City is facing a similar situation. How can you justify this?!"

Lyria and Livy were dumbfounded.

Now that they actually thought about it, it was truly the case!

Leaving aside the already empty villages, the three consecutive villages they visited—from Whisperwood Village, to the one with the Crimson Tide Spiders, to the recent one where they met Brunhild and the others—and now Batley City, were all pretty much finished.

Wherever they went, the entire place faced destruction and complete annihilation!

Livy slowly raised her quivering hand and also stammered, "I-I think R-Ringwood Town is safe, isn't it?"

Lyria's eyes brightened with hope. That's right! Ringwood Town was completely safe!

Eric took another sip of his tea and snorted again, "It was the great ‘I’ who saved their asses, or else they were set to become healthy snacks for the Dark Elf tribe!"

Both Lyria and Livy nearly slipped off their chairs.

It was indeed so...

All three of them were left completely speechless.

Lyria muttered in a tone that sounded like her soul was about to fly out of her body, "And Sildargrade has also been facing some turmoil for a while now..."

All three of them once again sighed with depression.

They had heard about the situation from Caius and the others and could guess the capital was currently a boiling pot, and that was their next destination.

The only positive thing Eric was betting on was that it would take another two to three months to reach Sildargrade. By then, the turmoil should have ended, and they could finally relax and enjoy a capital city before leaving through the space gateway or via airships.

Eric, Lyria, and Livy sat with depressed and lonely expressions.

At this moment, Livy once again raised her hand and asked in a clear, innocent tone, "Brother Eric, since whichever place we visit faces destruction... shouldn't we be the evil people?"

This time, Eric nearly slipped off his chair.

She made perfect sense, and he couldn’t even argue against that unassailable logic!

Just as Eric was thinking of how to retort against Livy’s argument, he froze. All three of them turned their heads toward the western sky.

...The fight had begun.

Eric sighed and slowly stood up, looking over at Lyria. "Ly, keep Puchi ready. We are leaving right after this."

Livy and Lyria stood up as well.

Eric grabbed Livy's shoulder and sighed once more. "They didn't even let us enjoy two days' worth of a carefree holiday in our very first city." He paused, his expression slowly morphing into a smile as he turned to the bright, amber-eyed girl beside him and instructed, "Ly!"

"Activate 'Go All Out—Level 3!'"

The moment the words left his mouth, Eric and Livy vanished.

Lyria smiled. She could easily see what Eric was suggesting. It was to use the current situation to set baseline boundaries for their full capabilities. It was also the perfect time to start thinking in that direction. She could easily guess what "Go All Out" Levels 1 and 2 implied.

She turned toward Puchi, who looked shocked by Eric and Livy disappearing into thin air.

"Puchi, I am leaving for a while. After we are back, prepare for a long flight through the endless sky!" Saying this, Lyria pulled up her hood along with her hidden mask and slipped on her dark red gauntlets, which were as thin as gloves. These gauntlets were part of the light armor outfit she wore beneath her cloak.

Puchi responded with a happy, excited squeal.

Lyria smiled and stared toward the clear afternoon sky, murmuring to herself, "It's time for Lady Cloaked Demon's appearance... Hm... No, it's 'Cloaked Demon's Wife!' Hehe."

Lyria also vanished into thin air.

Puchi was equally shocked, but this time she clearly felt a powerful gale of wind rushing off in a specific direction.

---

BANG! CRACK!

The head butler of the Pierce family, Dustin, made a heavy swing and smashed a human skeleton summon with his long staff. The staff was a high-grade Tier 1 weapon, intricately designed and golden. It had been with him ever since he was just a Rank 2 youngster, a gift to him from the Pierce family.

"Madam, are you alright?" Dustin asked while catching his breath. "Please leave; I will hold them off."

Although they were still intact at this moment, they were completely outnumbered. It wouldn’t be long before it was too late.

Around thirty necromancers had surrounded them. Among them, eighteen were Rank 2 and the remaining twelve were Rank 3. Not a single Rank 1 could be seen! And that wasn't the worst part; nearly sixty or seventy skeleton summons had appeared alongside them!

The necromancers had been very casual since they arrived, seemingly having fun toy-playing with the Pierce family rather than directly killing them. Every once in a while, a few necromancers would casually hurl spells at them while letting only their skeletons do the heavy fighting.

Dustin could understand that the necromancers were draining their energy, and they would only truly attack when all the Pierce family members were completely exhausted. Skeletons were, after all, disposable; as long as the necromancer mages had mana, they could summon them endlessly.

It was a terrible situation. Among the twelve Rank 3 necromancers, seven were at the late stage! And among them, one was especially troublesome; beside that individual stood a horrifying zombie of a Young-stage Rank 2 Mana Beast!

This Mana Beast wasn't too massive, possessing a humanoid giant shape. It was definitely a Ground Element physical type, possibly some sort of ape species, standing nearly four to five meters tall. It had a thick, muscular build and stood on its two hind legs.

Even if none of the necromancers interfered, the Pierce family still couldn’t win against that creature easily. As a zombie, it might not be at its absolute best compared to when it was alive, but its constitution and strength should be even higher than its original state!

It was not entirely impossible to defeat the creature, but it would be extremely difficult. Normally, taking down a Young-stage Rank 2 creature required five late-stage Rank 3s. The Pierce family currently had only three such individuals, including Dustin himself. But the main problem was that the necromancer definitely wouldn’t just let them kill the zombie without interfering. The zombie was the least of their current worries anyway, as it was just standing quietly beside a late-stage Rank 3 mage without joining the battle yet.

Marabeth spat blood from her mouth and stood straight with her long sword. She had been hit by a Bone Arrow spell from a Rank 2 necromancer; although it wasn't able to penetrate her mana defense, it did give her quite a beating, enough to make her spit blood.

Taking deep breaths, she looked around and smiled bitterly. "Just how do you suggest we escape? We are completely surrounded."

The main gate and their main building behind them were mostly destroyed. They were all currently forced to fight in the open courtyard with no cover to hide or dodge, and before they even realized it, they had been surrounded from all sides.

The only good thing was that most servants, workers, and weaker family members had already been moved to a hidden bunker within the large estate. Currently, seventeen mana wielders of the Pierce family were facing off against the necromancers.

The Pierce family was not a combat-focused family like the Valerian family. Furthermore, most of the Pierce family's main members were currently out of the city for business. At this moment, this was the maximum number of warriors the Pierce family could muster. Among them, five were just Rank 1 and were completely useless in the current battle, but Marabeth, who was acting as the temporary head of the Pierce family while her husband was away, couldn’t abandon them either as they were the children of their family members.

The necromancer mage who controlled the Young-stage Rank 2 Mana Beast zombie laughed, speaking while leering at Marabeth, "Haha old man, there is indeed a way for that woman to live. But only if that woman, along with the seven other women in your group, surrenders and signs my servant contract scroll to take me—the great Balthazar—as their lifelong master. Then they shall all live well under me! Haha. What do you say?"