Chapter 156: Fireball in the Cave

"Elf? Such a quaint term," the woman wielding the Magic Curved Saber said, eyeing Silvia with malice. "So, what do you think? Does my noble bloodline suit your tastes?"

"My ancestors and relatives walked too far down the path of power. Mages, Vampires, Witch Demons... we grew further and further apart, to the point where even immediate family often couldn’t recognize one another."

"But fortunately, we still have one thing in common—a shared home, a shared surname, a shared clan."

She gracefully sidestepped Sera’s sword, then sent Delaford flying with a kick. "We are Von Richthofen."

The Gray Elf seemed to have made up her mind, ready to abandon her previous fighting style now that she had revealed her name. The curved saber in her hand transformed into a chain lined with dense spikes. A thick, pitch-black fog erupted from her body, shrouding everyone within. In the blink of an eye, she vanished and reappeared in front of Ron, who was at the rear.

She raised the Thorn Chain high. The Mage before her seemed to be in a daze, completely oblivious to her surprise attack. All she had to do was lift a finger, and his life—his very soul—would be hers for the taking!

So what was Ron doing at that moment?

He was Casting. And he had just finished the incantation.

"Fireball!" Caught completely off guard, Ron reflexively hurled the fully formed Fireball Magic in his hand, smashing it point-blank into the face of his equally surprised attacker.

Inside the cavern, a violent explosion—one might call it "art"—erupted from within the group shrouded by the Dark Magic, instantly sending everyone flying!

"COUGH—*Ptoo!*" A Healing Truth Words from Victoria jolted the unconscious Ron back to his feet. He coughed, hastily pulled out a Healing Potion, and chugged it down. He’d nearly blown himself to smithereens!

’It’s all that bastard’s fault! If you’re going to launch a sneak attack, then just do it! What was the point of casting Dark Magic? I couldn’t target anything through that darkness!’

"You almost got us all killed!" Aive yelled from nearby. She had wedged her tower shield against the wall to create a safe corner and was now leaning inside, chugging one Healing Potion after another.

The others had also suffered injuries to varying degrees and were busy healing themselves. It was a good thing Ron and his group weren’t short on Potions, or they all might have been wiped out right here.

Silvia drained the blood plasma from her two waterskins and took a shallow breath. She looked at the Gray Elf, who was about to heal herself, and weakly pointed her Walking Stick at the Healing Potion in the elf’s hand. "Missile."

"You!" The woman from the Von Richthofen clan was so enraged she nearly choked. She coughed up a mouthful of dark red blood mixed with a slew of unidentifiable fragments, which seemed to drain all the fight out of her.

"Bad news: none of us are in good shape anymore—I mean, none of us are uninjured," Sera said. She had the lightest injuries. Wiping a trickle of blood from her lips, she pushed herself up, leaning on the Grip of the Vast Wave. "Good news: it seems none of the monsters in the caves survived, either."

She limped toward the gray-skinned Elf. "Even better news: I’m going to carve this shit-stirrer into eight pieces! It’s the only way to satisfy my rage!"

Ron hadn’t been at this for long, but his Casting had always been reliable. So, if an explosion like that happened today, whose fault could it possibly be? The barbarian’s fury quickly filled the entire cavern.

However, this Richthofen showed no fear. She looked up at the mountain of a woman that was Sera, her lips barely moving. "Don’t you find it strange?"

"What’s strange?" Sera retorted, not actually wanting an answer.

"Your Protective Magic has worn off, hasn’t it?" Richthofen stared at her. "But do you still hear any of the static?"

"No, I can’t hear it anymore," Victoria, who had also recovered, said. She tugged on Sera’s sleeve, signaling her to be patient. "What are you trying to say?"

"I’m saying you’ve disturbed the master of this place," Richthofen sneered, coughing up blood. "He has decided to deal with you personally!"

"Go on, kill me. Eight pieces, eighty pieces, I don’t care. My mission is accomplished. You rabble won’t be able to hinder his cause any longer!"

"’He?’" Ron latched onto the word, even though his head was still ringing. "You know what’s going on here?"

"Of course. Why else would I be here?" Richthofen snorted. "I had originally planned to find the right moment to lure you here myself. I never expected a mere adventuring poet would lead you right to this spot. It saved me quite a bit of effort!"

"If it weren’t for your little tricks, I wouldn’t have even bothered to show myself. He would have come out to deal with you himself when you tried to rescue the others!"

"But now..." Richthofen cackled. "It all ends the same."

"Uh, if I could just interrupt," Aive cut in as the wounded combatants were trading barbs on the ground. "This ’he’ you’re talking about... he’s a man, right?"

"Of course. Are you deaf, you Half-human?" Richthofen frowned. "When I say ’he,’ could I possibly mean a woman?!"

"He may be exceptionally handsome, but he is most definitely not a woman!"

"So it’s not a little girl," Aive murmured. "Second question: is he on fire? Like, completely engulfed in flames?"

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting? He’s not a Flame Demon!"

"Okay," Aive shifted her stance, readying herself to raise her tower shield in an instant. "Third question: is he wreathed in black smoke?"

Richthofen: "?"

’What kind of questions are these? Wait, it can’t be—’

A terrible premonition washed over them all. As one, they snapped their heads around to look deeper into the cavern.

A massive, blazing Fireball came RUMBLING down the cavern tunnel, hurtling straight toward them. The heat it gave off was enough to raise the temperature of the entire cavern. At its core, everyone could see a young girl in ragged clothes, her form partially obscured by black mist.

It was none other than Luo Wei, the Sorcerer from Wilson’s Adventurer team!

"Damn it," Delaford’s eyes bulged, his jaw nearly hitting the floor. "Don’t tell me we have to fight a whole horde of them now?!"