Chapter Thirty-One: The Unexpected

Lando asked in astonishment, “Why?! I should have pierced your heart!” Prince Shakas snorted coldly, offering no reply. Waves of water shimmered across his body, and the wound on his chest quickly stopped bleeding and began to heal.

“Wait, could it be that your heart is on the right side?” The fleeting terror in Prince Shakas’s eyes convinced Lando that his guess was, perhaps, half correct.

He could only be half sure, for the villains in this generation were unusually cunning. Lando couldn’t tell if the prince’s look was genuine shock at being found out or a deliberate ruse, concealing some other reason his chest wound had left him unscathed.

“Thor was right—I really should have just taken his head!” Lando regretted not heeding his predecessor’s advice.

There was no time to dwell on regret. More and more guards were flooding in, and overhead surveillance relayed images of city guards gathering en masse.

Calmly, Lando set in motion the preparations he had made: the nearest road leading here suddenly bulged, then collapsed within seconds, leaving a pit at least five meters wide. The edges were still passable, but to move a large force quickly was now impossible.

This minor hindrance might buy Lando several precious minutes.

He glanced at the guards surrounding him, wary but not attacking—they were stalling for time, waiting for reinforcements. With a cold laugh, Lando triggered the elemental bombs he had scattered upon entering. Explosions thundered as the building’s supporting structure was destroyed, and the entire house began to tilt and tremble, on the verge of collapse.

The guards’ faces changed; not everyone could survive a collapsing building, especially a three-story structure built of solid stone slabs.

A kaleidoscope of colors swirled around Lando—raw elemental energy, almost tangible. For an arcanist, such crude manipulation was inefficient and inelegant, but Lando no longer cared about depleting his reserves; he was channeling everything into brute strength, forsaking finesse for overwhelming power.

Faced with Lando’s relentless assault, Prince Shakas turned and fled, shouting as he ran, “Stop him!” His companion, Metal, was a beat slow to react but instinctively followed. After a few steps, though, he hesitated, then subtly distanced himself from the prince.

With a flash of his sword, Lando easily cut down several guards who had mustered the courage to attack. The prince’s flight, the collapsing house, and the corpses of their comrades finally broke the remaining guards’ resolve—they scattered in panic.

Freed of obstacles, Lando pursued Prince Shakas. By the time he caught sight of the prince’s retreating back, the man had already smashed through the rear door and bolted outside, his face alight with the joy of imminent escape.

Lando’s lips curled into a cold smile. The outer array of elemental shield generators activated, casting a cage-like barrier around Prince Shakas. No matter how ferociously he attacked, the shield shimmered but never broke.

In ancient times, the most important lesson for wizards and sorcerers alike was survival. Sorcerers, for instance, often chose a defensive spell as their first innate magic. Wizards took it even further—many traditions forbade members from fighting until they had mastered life-preserving spells like cloning, projection, teleportation, or contingency.

As an arcanist of this lineage, Lando upheld this fine tradition; even in the modern Arcane Empire, the principle remained unchanged.

The elemental shield generator, detailed in the latest edition of the “Universal Basic Weapons Compendium,” was marked as the most essential of all basic armaments. Its defensive power depended on quality and number, typically three to nine units forming a combat sequence.

Lando’s set comprised six units. Thanks to their combat attributes, these generators not only provided robust defense but also excelled at trapping enemies. Notably, when Lando first encountered Alice, she had entered battle mode in a cave, the floating drones around her forming a superior combat sequence that combined offense and defense.

By now, Prince Shakas had noticed that this cage was formed by six metallic spheres, each the size of a baby’s fist. He attempted to destroy them, but it was utterly futile.

Lando approached the cage. With a thought, the barrier shrank, pinning Prince Shakas motionless. From his ring, Lando drew the long sword stained with the blood of the dungeon’s maidens, now encased in ice, ready to sever the wretch’s head and bring closure to his quest.

From another direction, Metal, trying to flee, inadvertently glanced back and saw this scene. His eyes nearly burst from their sockets as a torrent of conflicting thoughts flooded his mind—

This man is about to kill Prince Shakas...

Prince Shakas is my sworn brother...

He came to me for help—if something happens here, I’ll never be able to explain...

The kingdom...

The family...

All these tangled thoughts coalesced into one.

Save him...

Save him!

I have to save him!!!

Time seemed to crawl and race at once. Lando had already raised his sword for the killing blow.

Metal tore the necklace from his neck and hurled it at Lando.

The instant he let go, Metal’s face went pale, disbelief flashing through his mind.

Why?! Why did I do that?!

The necklace was a life-saving talisman he’d only recently received from his father, who had warned him never to use it unless he could wipe out all witnesses—better to die than unleash it otherwise. Yet now, for the laughable cause of “saving Shakas,” he’d spent it. Would his family or father ever forgive him? Even if he saved the prince, would the kingdom pardon the use of such a forbidden power?

Lando noticed Metal’s movement but paid it no mind. Before his sword could fall, the thrown necklace exploded mid-air, unleashing an uncountable horde of vengeful spirits that attacked all living things indiscriminately.

Lando was no exception; in fact, most of the wrathful shades targeted him first.

In a flash, Lando made his decision. He commanded the elemental shield generators to disassemble and reconfigure around him, repelling the deadliest surge of vengeful spirits.

Prince Shakas’s eyes flickered with renewed lust for life. Seizing the chance, he bit his lip and erupted in a cloud of blood mist. His form flickered, and when he reappeared, he was dozens of meters away, staggering but retreating rapidly.

Lando’s expression darkened. A premonition crept into his heart—if he failed to slay Prince Shakas now, not only would he gain a mortal enemy, but he would also forfeit unimaginable benefits.