In a courtyard, Wales was engaged in a fierce battle with Aaron, manipulating two tongues of flame.
Suddenly, he caught sight of a streak of purple lightning and, upon seeing Milo's incredibly grim face, his heart skipped a beat.
He hastily retreated, swinging the flames in front of him defensively.
Yet, absurdly, the flames were instantly extinguished upon contact with the purple lightning, and in the next moment, he exploded into a cloud of blood mist with a loud "boom."
Milo, without a second glance, teleported away.
Reappearing elsewhere with a flash of lightning, he executed two consecutive jumps, eliminating two core members of the Clark family.
Then, lifting his gaze towards the distance, his eyes narrowed before he teleported again!
...
In the center of Crystalis city, within a grand palace-style building, the ground was inscribed with numerous complex runes.
Over a hundred nodes were embedded with purple magic crystals.
The magic array was already activated, with countless magical elements pulsating over it, emitting a series of thunderous roars.
"Quick! Quick!" Alex paced back and forth in agitation and desperation near the magic array, followed by over a dozen family members, all wearing anxious expressions.
The magic array before them was a teleportation array to the Free Federation, from where they could then move to the Gale Empire.
If they could escape to the Gale Empire, their family could preserve a spark of hope.
With dedicated effort, perhaps in a few generations, there was a chance to restore the glory of the Golden House.
"Quick, get on!" As the activation was imminent, he bellowed and stepped onto the platform first.
The other clan members followed, stepping onto the teleportation magic array.
Magical lights flickered, obscuring his vision.
At last, they were escaping, Alex thought, breathing a sigh of relief.
But in the next instant, the roaring of the magic array abruptly ceased.
The teleportation light at his feet also vanished.
His eye twitched as he saw a streak of purple lightning flash by, leaping repeatedly.
With a series of loud bangs, the clan members around him exploded into blood mist.
The next second, he saw a woman with madness in her eyes approaching from a distance.
Milo Shulin!
This can't be!
...
A sliver of sunlight, sneaking through the gap in the carriage curtain, hit his face.
Nathan slowly opened his eyes to a blinding brightness.
His head ached.
His body felt as if it had fallen apart.
"You're awake?" A pale, slender hand reached out from the side, pulling the curtain slightly aside, once again shielding that streak of sunlight.
Only then did Nathan squint his eyes, seeing the carriage's canopy.
At that moment, he was lying naked on a swaying soft couch.
His skin was red like a cooked lobster, his dick erect and slightly menacing in appearance.
His body was covered with many ice cubes, constantly emitting a faint chill.
Nathan struggled to raise his head but was startled by his own appearance and hurriedly tried to sit up.
But his body felt as if it was filled with lead, extraordinarily heavy!
With his movement, a large pile of ice cubes tumbled from beside his body.
"Ah! Don't move! Or you'll get a fever again!" A familiar female voice rang in his ears, leaving Nathan somewhat dazed.
"Eris?" Nathan's voice was so hoarse it was almost unrecognizable as his own.
"Yes, can you please stay still? Do you have any idea how much effort Lia put into preserving these ice cubes for you?" Eris spoke with irritation, picking up the ice cubes one by one and carefully placing them back on Nathan.
Her arm inadvertently touched Nathan's lower body, causing her cheeks to flush with embarrassment, "Lia, you do it, please. I get annoyed every time I see that thing of his!"
Lia murmured a low "Mhm," bending over to pick up the ice cubes.
This is it, Nathan thought despairingly.
His image, completely ruined!
And the other person was Lia.
Nathan slowly turned his head, hoping to see if there was a third person.
First, Eris's concerned and pretty face came into view.
Beside him was Lia, looking worried.
Lia at that moment was like a dutiful little wife taking care of her husband, bending over, carefully placing the ice cubes on him with earnestness.
Since he couldn't move, Nathan decided to let go.
With a raspy voice, he asked, "How long have I been unconscious?"
"Three days," Eris said, placing a water bottle to Nathan's lips, "The master said it will take a week to regain mobility."
"Oh, then where are we headed?" Nathan drank half the bottle, taking a breath. Judging by the looks of it, they seemed to have traveled quite a distance.
"The master instructed us to take you to Cliff. You've been afflicted with a dark magic curse from the Gale Empire, and no one in Dracoria can lift it. Cliff is a close friend of the master and the most powerful sage in the Free Federation. He should have a way."
"That so... I remember being hit with that black-robed magus's Blood Burning. I thought I was a goner," Nathan mused, then asked, "What happened after I lost consciousness?"
Eris fell silent, her memories of the incident still chilling: "The mentor killed many people. Even some who were not directly involved couldn't escape. The Sacred Emperor almost had a fallout with the master over it, but..."
She hesitated.
"But what?"
"But the most important one got away," Eris said worriedly. "Alex Clark was secretly rescued by Lynch Clark who rushed back, and now the master is hunting those two. They might already be in the Gale Empire by now."
"Is the mentor that fierce?!" Nathan was suddenly a bit moved.
In any case, his mentor was looking out for him, protecting him.
Especially recalling the concerned look in Milo's eyes before he passed out, he felt even more touched.
His mind became active again, contemplating where to go next to settle his grudges.
After a while, Nathan sighed, deciding to focus on the present and asked, "And what about Lia?"
He remembered Lia had left the house that day and wondered about her thoughts.
There had been some grudges between them, but now it seemed Lia didn't take them to heart and even came to help with the escort.
"The mentor left in a hurry that day, and it was I who found Miss Lia. Her talent in both water and fire magic is just right for creating ice to cool you down,"
Eris hesitated for a moment before adding, "Besides, there's no need for you two to avoid each other. Hehe, isn't that convenient?"
"Please! Can someone give me some underwear? This is really embarrassing," Nathan groaned.
Eris blushed and retorted, "It's not like we didn't try to dress you, but that thing of yours has been standing straight the whole time. Do you think it makes any difference whether you wear anything or not?"
Nathan was speechless.
He noticed Lia's face had turned red all the way to her neck and quickly changed the subject.
They began to discuss their destination, Nebula Academy.
Dracoria is located in the eastern part of the Nofan Continent, bordering the Endless Sea, with vast ice plains to the north, sparsely inhabited by scattered barbarian tribes.
To the west of Dracoria lies the Gale Empire, sharing a long border fraught with territorial disputes.
Skirmishes frequently occur in the Tempest Mountains along the border.
South of the Empire is a loose federation comprised of over a dozen smaller nations known as the Free Federation.
It's formed by southern nobles, landowners, and some declining royal powers.
These forces each hold their own territories within the Federation.
Interestingly, despite the diverse powers, conflicts are rare.
Nebula Academy is situated atop the highest Thunderclap Range in the Free Federation.
Although located within the Federation, it's seldom influenced by its policies, instead existing almost independently above it.
Nebula Academy has intricate connections with many nations on the continent, leading to a dependency of the Free Federation on the Academy.
Despite some conflicts of interest between nations, everyone at Nebula Academy shares a common goal –
To elevate the level and understanding of magic.
In this world, humans are not the sole dominants.
While possessing powerful magic, human lifespan remains a significant shortcoming.
Compared to other intelligent races of this world, like elves, liches, and the legendary ancient spirits, the human lifespan is negligible.
To extend life, even preserve youth, one must become a legend, achieving immortality.
Thus, so many people in this world desperately study magic.
A magical academy with countless years of heritage becomes a sanctified place, transcending worldly affairs.
The three of them chatted intermittently until the afternoon, when dark clouds rolled in from the north, tumbling over the sunset-reddened sky, layer upon layer, slowly plunging the world into darkness, as a storm seemed imminent.
At Eris's command, with the coachman cracking his whip and shouting, the carriage sped up, racing along a straight road through the wilderness towards a small town not far ahead.