"Try not to kill him," the leader chided.
"Don't worry. I held back a lot," the man laughed. "Even I don't want to face the captain's wrath. The last time I screwed up, he almost killed me."
"You have the nerve to mention that again?" he was speechless.
"And you two snickering assholes," the man turned to the pair who were jeering at him earlier. "You deal with the kid. I did all the hard work." Everyone had to control their twitching eyebrow. The man made two moves and called it hard work. How lazy must he be?
"Let's hurry this up. This took longer than I expected. The captain and vice-captain must be thinking we messed up," the leader urged. Although the conversation and battle, if it could be called that, lasted a handful of minutes, he had a strangely unnerving feeling build up. He could not help but feel uncomfortable.
The two grunted in displeasure and moved to grab Freon. They were three steps away when the boy jerked his hand from behind his back, revealing a wand and a Magic Circle! Surprisingly, this was the same strategy that Elizabeth once used! Ten fire needles, twice the thickness of before, formed on his command in less than a second. Before anyone could react, they shot out at point blank range. A heartbeat later, the two were pierced from head to toe. One was instantly pierced through the head, instantly dying! The other was critical injured and kneeled on the ground while bleeding crazily. The power of this spell pushed beyond the limits of the normal Fire Needles! It was too strong!
Resisting the grogginess and pain, Freon was also shocked. In truth, when he was attacked the second time, he really was about to lose consciousness. Getting punched in the gut hard enough to fly… It was hard to describe just how powerful his opponent was and that was him taking it easy as well. Just how strong must the captain or vice-captain be? Freon could not imagine it. Nevertheless, it was an extreme stroke of luck that he managed to persevere. Why? Because he suffered two consecutive situations like this not long ago! When he nearly self-destructed by channeling World Energy, and then when his body exploded in pain by casting a spell, he had a stockpile of horrendous experiences… Therefore, this one-sided beating was almost considered light and allowed Freon to remain conscious.
To be honest, he would rather avoid using magic after that happened. Despite achieving Medium Gaseous Fog, without understanding his condition, it was too dangerous. Because of that, he opted for the tactic of using a short sword. It was foolhardy admittedly, but Freon hoped that it would at least serve as a deterrent. Unfortunately, that was wishful thinking. Against any other person, he might have succeeded. Against the Third Hand though, he fell short. They were not the type to fall for his cheap tricks. When he realized this, he had no choice but to use magic again. He discarded his hesitation, placing his bets on Shirley. Every second counted! Alas, Freon did not know that Shirley failed long ago.
Hence, he used the Fire Needle spell to ambush two! However, the effects were startling even to him. He understood the power of his spell very well because he could create a maximum of five Fire Needles, about the width of half a finger. That was the same in the fight several hours ago, as well as before he passed out. Magic was a formulaic construct. It did not matter how you adjusted the spell. If the Magic Circle remained the same, then there would always be an upper bound. Much like how a cat could not transform into a tiger, it was a fundamental difference in lifeforms! Furthermore, with the rain suppressing his fire spell, the effects should be reduced again. Freon would be lucky to create three Fire Needles with a scant amount of power. But reality proved differently. He killed one and incapacitated the other! It was not that they were weak. Rather, his spell was too powerful!
Before he could ponder anymore, the man who pummeled him grimaced and dashed in his direction. This time, he did not hold back. His fists were packed with deadly force! He sliced through the air like the grim reaper, about to burst Freon's head! The leader shouted out incomprehensible words as he moved as well. The situation developed too fast. No one understood what was happening, nor did they want to. They wanted to suppress this new threat as fast as possible. Freon turned from a weakling to a dangerous foe!
Freon saw the fist closing on his face in slow motion. In that split-second, he rolled out the way, holding back the pain from his fractured ribs and injured organs. He might be able to hold back from fainting, but his injuries were not for show! His opponent slammed their fist into the brick wall, pulverizing the bricks into dust. He could actually punch a hole through the wall! There was no time to think anymore. Freon did not dare imagine what would happen if he were hit and focused on constructing his next spell. His mind ignored everything else. Fire Needles! By the time he stood up, his spell was already complete. It barely took a second. The casting speed was elevated to another level entirely!
The leader dashed across the alleyway with a dagger in hand. He might be holding back his killing intent, but his aura was still hair-raisingly deadly. While his subordinate was a mighty bear, he was a venomous snake! The two of them together created a nightmarish combination. Additionally, there was that third person who was right behind the leader. After all, there were originally five enemies. Dealing with two meant there were still three combat-ready enemies!
Freon looked forward with fearless eyes. If it came down to a fight, then so be it! He was not about to sit quietly and be beaten senselessly. There was his minimum level of dignity! As if responding to his feelings, his spell activated with pinpoint accuracy. The fire needles pierced through the rain leaving behind a thin blazing trail. Their speed exceeded crossbows! Nevertheless, the leader was well prepared. After seeing the attack once, he had already seen through the spell. Since Fire Needles was originally a Low Gaseous Fog spell, it was simple and linear. Its only edge was its superior penetrative and speed capability. For professionals of the Third Hand's caliber, it was not enough!
The leader raised his dagger and stomped on the ground, shifting his weight to redirect his momentum. Despite the extremely high-speed of the fire needles, he had a rough idea of Freon's fighting experiences. Give a man a sword, and one could see the difference between a sword amateur and a sword master. It was the same situation here. Freon lacked enough experience to fully capitalize against his opponents. His spells might be powerful, but linear. The same went for Freon! However, the leader might realize this, but his body was different. He could not completely avoid every projectile! Almost nobody could dodge a point-blank attack like this. Only a Perception Realm might achieve that! Unfortunately, this leader was at the Half-Perception Realm. The captain and vice-captain were the true fighting strength of the Third Hand!
One pierced his arm, while another entered his chest, creating gory wounds. And yet, they were non-fatal. The other person right behind the leader was in a better state, having a split-second longer to react. Neither were injured enough! Freon grimaced. His spell lost this much effectiveness this fast. Indeed, they were strong opponents! He continued to pull back, while the two staggered from the assault. His mind wandered for an instant, wondering where Shirley was. Did she fail? If she failed, then he was really in trouble! Against his previous enemies, he was not afraid. But the Whispering Shadow was a goliath. There was no guarantee that Nassandra could help. Or rather, no guarantee that the Zino Kingdom would help!