One have to say, even though Charl is one of the "Thirteen" at the Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machinart, she is still a student.
Perhaps, in terms of strength and technique, Charl is not inferior even when compared to puppeteers in the military. However, when it comes to real combat, there are still some shortcomings.
Therefore, when the dark shadow pounced from the forest, Charl's mind was almost blank, unable to react in time.
Sigmund did react in advance, but due to not providing magic, the puppet could not respond.
In the meantime, Rozen, flying at the fastest speed in mid-air, also saw this.
At that moment, Rozen's eyes flashed slightly.
Within his body, magic transformed into an incantation in an instant.
"————Namo Hachiman Daibosatsu————"
Carrying endless fire powder, Rozen chanted this mantra softly while speeding towards the target.
"Clap!"
A crisp sound resonated as Rozen clapped his hands together, allowing the burst of magic to erupt from his overlapped hands.
This burst of magical force was like a supersonic wave, sweeping through the space like an invisible projectile, directly hitting the approaching shadow.
"Boom!"
In the heart-stopping sound of the air exploding, the shadow seemed to be hit by an invisible impact, turning into a ball. It tore through the air and was blown in front of Charl.
If a professional onmyoji were here and saw the spell Rozen just used, they would surely be amazed, right?
Because that was not a jujutsu.
If classified, it should indeed fall under the category of Type A jutsu.
However, unlike spells performed using jujutsu formulas, this was just releasing jutsuryoku and spiritual power to create an impact. The principle, though simple, was the original jutsu before the emergence of "techniques" performed using formulas.
And precisely because it was primitive, its power was entirely dependent on the amount of jutsuryoku and spiritual power the user released.
Taking Rozen as an example, if only a small portion of jutsuryoku was released, its power would be at most enough to send a person flying or knock them unconscious. But if the user released all their jutsuryoku at once, it could potentially blow away an entire forest or even carve off a piece of a mountain, wouldn't it?
Now, Rozen used this technique, converting jutsuryoku into a pure impact to blow away the shadow.
Naturally, Charl, who was very close, couldn't avoid being affected by the explosion.
"Ah!"
Charl screamed as she was blown into the air and fell to the ground.
"It hurts!"
The moment she fell to the ground, Charl let out a painful cry.
But at this moment, no one paid attention to Charl.
"Who goes there!?"
Sigmund flew in front of Charl, sharp eyes staring at the blown-away shadow, and asked in a deep voice.
Unfortunately, the opponent did not respond and took advantage of the residual impact to fly a distance, flipping and disappearing into the shadows.
Rozen then descended from mid-air, draped in a black coat.
"It's you?" Sigmund exclaimed in surprise.
"You!" Charl also rose in astonishment. She wanted to speak but inexplicably turned a bit pale, showing a hint of pain on her face.
"Rozen!" At this moment, Yaya leaped out of the forest and jumped down from the treetop.
"Go after them, Yaya," Rozen instructed Yaya.
"Yes!" Yaya immediately continued to tread on the ground, leaping high like a rocket, rushing towards the direction where the shadow disappeared.
At the scene, it returned to silence.
Rozen turned around, looking at Charl and Sigmund sitting in front of him, raised an eyebrow, and spoke.
"How did you end up here?"
To this, before Sigmund could say anything, Charl spoke up.
"I should be the one saying that!" Charl said indignantly. "Why jump out suddenly and scare people!?"
Charl accused loudly.
"Who scared you?" Rozen squinted, saying, "I already warned you to be careful, and even saved you. How did it turn into me scaring you?"
Speaking of this, Rozen was a little annoyed.
"Who asked you to rescue me?" Charl exclaimed in frustration, "Even if you hadn't jumped out suddenly, I could have handled it myself."
This was completely being stubborn.
"Oh really?" Rozen said with a playful tone, "Then why did I see someone who was completely scared senseless just now? Hm?"
Rozen spoke in a teasing manner.
"You! You!" Charl seemed to realize her own embarrassing behavior and was so upset that she trembled all over.
"Calm down, Charl." Sigmund flew to Charl's side and landed on the ground, saying, "First, let's understand the situation."
Saying this, Sigmund turned to Rozen.
"Thank you very much for your assistance, Rorelai Arneet."
Sigmund bowed to Rozen in gratitude.
In that manner, he looked just like a calm and dignified elder, truly inspiring respect.
"No need," Rozen turned his gaze to Sigmund and said with a smile, "It seems that the puppet has more composure than the master."
At this, Charl raised her eyebrows, ready to explode, but Sigmund chose the right moment to interject.
"Was that an attempt to attack you just now?"
Sigmund inquired.
In Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machinart, such attack incidents are not uncommon.
Just like Magnus, being a first-rank and close to the throne of the Wiseman, there were countless individuals willing to go to any lengths to attack him, prompting the team to protect him closely.
Although Rozen's current ranking hasn't been reassigned, who would doubt his abilities now?
Therefore, there should be quite a number of people viewing him as an obstacle to their path to the Wiseman's throne and intending to deal with him in secret.
Given this, Sigmund made such a statement.
However...
"We're still not certain about the identity and motives of the assailant," Rozen shook his head and said, "But attacks like these from the shadows, would the academy allow it?"
"Of course not," Sigmund replied directly, "If it was an attack without malicious intent, whether it's the Disciplinary Committee or the Security Unit, they would crack down on it. They should be arriving soon."
As these words were spoken...
"That won't do!" Charl, still sitting on the ground, suddenly froze, looking panicked. She hastily said, "We need to leave before the Disciplinary Committee comes!"
Saying this, Charl tried to get up.
"Ah!"
However, the next moment, Charl cried out in pain, her face contorted in agony, and she sat back down.
This caught the attention of Rozen and Sigmund.
Charl's ankle on one foot was showing signs of abnormal swelling and redness.
Evidently, when she fell just now, Charl accidentally twisted her ankle.
Looking at Charl sitting on the ground, holding her ankle in pain, tears welling up, Rozen couldn't help but chuckle.
"It seems even the rumored 'Rex' is just an ordinary girl."
That's the situation.