Chapter 236: Shushu is furious!

"Ace!"

Shu Li's eyes widened in terror.

Everything around him seemed to freeze. The world fell into a dreadful silence, and the sound of stone striking flesh rang unnaturally clear in his ears, jolting his brain and leaving him momentarily incapable of reacting.

"Pfft!"

Ace coughed up a mouthful of blood, several drops splattering across Shu Li's cheek.

Dazed, Shu Li clutched Ace as they fell together. Sharp stones dug painfully into his back, but he didn't even flinch. For a moment, his eyes were completely vacant.

Ace lay sprawled over him, one hand protecting the back of Shu Li's head while the other supported his own weight. Blood continued to stream from the corners of his mouth.

"A-Ace..."

Shu Li stared at the bright red blood staining Ace's lips. His voice trembled, and panic overwhelmed him.

Even when they had faced so many black serpents and monsters, he hadn't been afraid. He knew his own strength was more than sufficient to protect his companions.

But just now, he had carelessly lowered the defensive barrier, allowing an unexpected enemy to catch them completely off guard.

And this boy, who had feelings for him, had been injured so badly while protecting him that he was coughing up blood!

For the first time, Shu Li felt genuine fear.

"I'm all right... Don't worry..." Ace whispered weakly.

Then he coughed up another mouthful of blood, and a drop landed between Shu Li's eyebrows.

Shu Li felt a burning sensation against his forehead.

In an instant, his fear turned to rage.

Whoever attacked us deserves to die!

Fury blazed in Shu Li's gray-green eyes.

Clenching his teeth, he pushed himself upright and shifted Ace into his arms. Kneeling on one knee, he held the injured boy protectively against his chest.

He ignored the low-ranking magic staff lying among the rocks.

Instead, his fingers brushed across his chest, and he retrieved the high-ranking magic staff he had kept in his storage ring all this time.

Spells from three different elements—wood, light, and fire—flashed through his mind.

In the next instant, snake-like vines erupted from the ground beneath the purple light. Hundreds of spheres of light descended from the sky, while two enormous Eastern fire dragons surged forward with overwhelming ferocity.

From the moment he raised his staff to the simultaneous release of three high-level spells, only two seconds passed.

In the blink of an eye, the dark figure within the purple light was swallowed by the onslaught.

His magic responded as quickly as his thoughts could form.

It was practically instantaneous spellcasting.

Efit, who was shielding the Dark Elf cubs, stared at the scene in utter astonishment.

He had already thought it incredible that the Little Fairy could cast purification spells instantaneously.

Never had he imagined that Shu Li could simultaneously unleash a wood-element Binding Spell, a light-element Exploding Light Sphere spell, and a fire-element Fire Dragon spell without chanting.

Those are supposed to be dragons, right?

They looked nothing like the dragons depicted in the ancient books he had read.

These creatures had no wings, their bodies were long and serpentine, and four clawed limbs extended from their undersides. They looked even more majestic and imposing.

Whatever kind of creature lurked within that purple light, it couldn't possibly escape three simultaneous elemental attacks without being killed or seriously injured.

Meanwhile, Lanno and Luka were trembling in Efit's arms at the sight of the purple light.

"Efit! The big monster is here! It's caught up with us!"

"What?" Efit looked down at them.

Luka's little face was deathly pale. Pressing both hands against Efit's chest, he urged desperately, "Efit, we have to run! That big monster is really powerful! It can't be killed!"

Efit didn't know what the cubs meant by the "big monster," but now was not the time to leave.

Elsewhere, the other members of the Light Squad had suffered injuries of varying severity. Fortunately, they were mostly superficial wounds. None had been hurt as badly as Ace, who had coughed up blood.

After unleashing his spells, Shu Li shouted, "Light Squad! Regroup!"

Everyone immediately ran toward him, moving with the precision of a well-trained team.

Shu Li raised his magic staff and prepared to silently invoke a defensive magical formation.

Noticing that Efit and the cubs hadn't moved, he called out, "Efit! Hurry over here!"

He still didn't know what the dark figure within the purple light was, or whether his spells had managed to kill it.

Whatever the case, he couldn't afford another moment of carelessness.

At his call, Efit brought the cubs over without hesitation.

Shu Li instantly activated a high-level light-element defensive formation. A luminous barrier covered in flowing magical runes enveloped everyone.

Then he lowered his head to look at Ace, still cradled in his arms, and cast a high-level light-healing spell to ease his injuries.

"Sperien, you..."

Seriu stared at the magic staff in Shu Li's hand, hesitating over what to say.

It was a high-ranking magic staff!

The entire shaft resembled purple crystal, and an enormous, flawless sunstone was embedded at its tip.

Seven different elemental powers were contained within the sunstone, which radiated such concentrated magical energy that a faint luminescence shimmered around the entire staff.

The value of a staff like this was beyond estimation.

It was probably even more precious than the staff belonging to the Mage Sovereign himself.

Even more astonishing was the fact that Sperien had unleashed three different high-level elemental spells simultaneously without uttering a single incantation.

Seriu had already been suspicious.

With his strength as a high-ranking mage and Intermediate Great Swordsman, even killing a single monster had been a considerable struggle.

So how had Sperien, supposedly a mere Mage Apprentice, managed to kill one by himself?

Now, after watching the black-haired boy produce an extraordinary magic staff and cast several high-level elemental spells instantaneously, displaying abilities far beyond those of a Magic Instructor, Seriu finally understood.

The boy standing before him couldn't possibly be a Mage Apprentice.

Shu Li knew what Seriu wanted to ask, but he was busy treating Ace and couldn't explain just yet.

"Once we've dealt with that thing, I'll explain."

He raised his head toward the dark figure engulfed by the fire dragons.

For the first time, a ruthless expression appeared on his delicate face.

Ever since arriving in this other world and becoming a carefree Little Fairy, Shu Li had maintained a remarkably peaceful outlook.

As long as nobody went out of their way to provoke him, he treated everyone courteously.

Even when Lu Weixi had abused his position to bully others, Shu Li had merely frightened him during their duel and taught him a memorable lesson. He had never intended to kill him.

But the dark figure within the purple light had descended from the sky without warning and injured his companions.

It had hurt Ace so badly that he coughed up blood!

That was unforgivable.

The thought that Ace's blood was still staining his own face sent waves of fury surging through Shu Li.

He wanted nothing more than to destroy that hateful creature.

In truth, even if none of his companions had been injured, he wouldn't have spared the dark figure.

The dense power of darkness accompanying its arrival was enough to tell him that it belonged with those monsters.

If he failed to eliminate it, the residents of Put Town might be placed in danger.

He had carefully examined Ace just now.

Fortunately, his spine was unharmed. The blood he had coughed up was the result of damage to his internal organs.

That, at least, was a blessing amid the misfortune.

The high-level light-healing spell could only heal eighty percent of his injuries. He would need to drink a potion after they returned to recover completely.

Looking at Ace's pale face, Shu Li felt a painful tightening in his chest.

His regret only deepened.

Seeing that Shu Li had abandoned all pretense of concealing his abilities, Dixio also retrieved a gleaming high-ranking magic staff from his storage ring.

He licked a scrape on the back of his hand and declared angrily, "Anything that makes such an arrogant entrance can't possibly be good!"

Budno had long been frustrated by how badly his low-ranking magic staff restricted his true abilities.

He eagerly grabbed his sunstone-embedded staff, thrust it high into the air, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Let's beat the crap out of it!"

"Beat the crap out of it!" Angel echoed, pulling out his own high-ranking magic staff with equal enthusiasm.

Kumandi said nothing.

He merely tightened his grip on his staff, made from a branch of the Purple Crystal Tree, and pointed it at the enemy.

Amanda looked from one Little Fairy to another.

Seeing that none of them intended to hide their strength anymore, he quickly put away his low-ranking magic staff and drew an enormous broadsword from his storage ring.

Compared with being a mage, he much preferred being a swordsman.

Dragons loved fighting at close quarters.

"You..."

Hector, Siti, and Nasha were completely dumbfounded, their faces filled with astonishment.

What's going on?

Why do our companions suddenly seem like completely different people?

Weren't they supposed to be poor villagers from the mountains?

They had been frantically completing everyday assignments to earn gold coins. When they could no longer accept those assignments, they had reluctantly taken on an adventuring assignment, all for the sake of earning five thousand gold coins.

But now...

The high-ranking magic staffs in their companions' hands were so magnificent that they were practically blinding!

Seriu had already been stunned for two full seconds when Dixio produced a staff identical to Shu Li's.

Then Budno, Angel, and Kumandi all brought out similarly extraordinary staffs.

At that point, even Seriu could no longer maintain his composure.

As a Dark Elf, Efit had read numerous ancient texts concerning Elves and Fairies.

He knew their magic staffs were made from the branches of an ancient sacred tree known as the Purple Crystal Tree.

Its branches were among the finest materials in the world for crafting magic staffs.

Elves and Fairies had to pray to the Purple Crystal Tree. Only after receiving its approval would they be granted its finest branches.

When combined with eighth- or ninth-rank sunstones, those branches could be crafted into magic staffs of the highest possible quality.

Clearly, the five Little Fairies were all holding such exceptional staffs.

If even one of these priceless staffs appeared at an auction, mages from across the continent would fight desperately to obtain it.

Five of them appearing together was practically inconceivable!

The Little Fairies had no idea what turmoil their companions were experiencing.

Now that they had their high-ranking magic staffs in hand, they wasted no time launching a ferocious magical assault on the dark figure still burning amid the flames.

One of the advantages of reaching the ranks of Grand Mage or Magic Instructor was that incantations became much shorter.

Tornadoes, Aurora spells, rains of water arrows, and showers of flaming meteors bombarded the dark figure within the purple light.

Pretending to be Mage Apprentices had been stifling!

Now that their cover was blown, there was no point holding back.

They drew in elemental power to their hearts' content and unleashed their strongest magical attacks without reservation.

After all, they were all members of the Light Squad.

If they continued traveling together, their true abilities would inevitably be exposed sooner or later.

The only question was when.

And today, given the extraordinary circumstances, they couldn't afford to worry about keeping up appearances.

Hector, Siti, and Nasha stared in openmouthed disbelief.

Seriu fell silent.

Efit gently patted the two cubs still trembling in his arms, then turned his attention toward Shu Li, who was treating the blond boy.

Under the Little Fairy's light-healing spell, color gradually returned to the human boy's face.

At last, he was able to move. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

His green eyes rested tenderly on the Little Fairy as he accepted Shu Li's hand and rose to his feet, softly expressing his gratitude.

Shu Li's tense brows relaxed, and a smile spread across his face.

The ruthlessness and fury of moments earlier vanished without a trace.

"Ace, just watch! I'm going to avenge you!"

Shu Li raised his magic staff and joined the assault.

He unleashed wood, light, and fire magic simultaneously, dispensing with spoken incantations altogether.

All he needed was a silent thought, and the spells activated instantly.

Having a proper weapon really did make an extraordinary difference.

His attacks were now several times more powerful.

Even if that dark figure were a ninth-rank magical beast, it would have no hope of surviving the combined assault of five Little Fairies.

"It's no use... It's no use..."

Lanno clutched Efit's mage robes and shook his head desperately.

"The big monster can't be killed! The stronger the magical attacks, the stronger it becomes!"

Luka nodded vigorously.

"We tried! It keeps regenerating and evolving!"

"Let's run! Please, let's all run!" Lanno begged.

Efit frowned, but he didn't question the cubs' words.

"Let's wait a little longer."

Given the Little Fairies' strength, their chances of victory were excellent.

Lanno and Luka were probably so frightened because their own abilities were insufficient to deal with the creature, making it seem overwhelmingly powerful.

Shu Li was equally convinced that victory was assured.

After enduring so many high-level magical attacks, there was no way the dark figure could still be alive.

Ace gently wiped the blood from the corners of his mouth with a spotless white handkerchief.

His green eyes were deep and unreadable.

Nearly twenty minutes of relentless magical bombardment passed.

By then, the purple light had long since dissipated, leaving an enormous, charred crater where the dark figure had stood.

The Little Fairies finally lowered their magic staffs and ceased their attacks.

"I'll go take a look," Seriu volunteered.

"I'm coming with you," Shu Li said.

He wasn't comfortable letting Seriu investigate alone.

"Me! Me too! I'm coming!"

Amanda bounced excitedly with his enormous sword resting on his shoulder.

After waiting so long, it was finally his turn to get involved!

Shu Li nodded.

After giving Kumandi a few instructions, he accompanied Seriu and Amanda toward the enormous crater to investigate.

Only after seeing the monster's corpse with his own eyes would he feel safe enough to leave.