After about ten seconds, Anthony shouted back with anger, "No wonder even Alex Clark called you despicable. I, Anthony, would rather die than do such a thing."
This time, Nathan was the one who got angry.
"Fine, if you won't come, then I'll just rape her in front of you. How about that?"
"Never. I will tear you apart!" Anthony roared.
With his roar, the cliff's stones emitted a gnawing sound.
Nathan shuddered at the thought of insects biting through the rock wall and burrowing into the cave.
He took out a pearl necklace, reluctantly inspecting it one last time.
Each pearl was embedded with a small magic array, and the entire necklace was enchanted.
Gritting his teeth, he threw it out.
As he uttered the incantation, a Flame Cloud spanning several tens of meters in diameter formed outside the cave.
Flames whirled, covering all the insects that had burrowed into the cliff wall.
They crackled as they burned.
Anthony, red-eyed, jumped back in retreat.
"Fine, let's see how much mana you have and how long you can keep this up," he said, again gathering insects to swarm around.
Time ticked away, and this Flame Cloud lasted a full twenty minutes, wearing down Anthony's patience.
The moment he noticed the Flame Cloud dissipating, Anthony conjured a shield of beetles and charged in.
However, just as he entered the cave and before he could make sense of the situation inside, a whistling compressed fireball sent him soaring into the air.
A massive boom, accompanied by rolling heatwaves, destroyed the insect shield in front of him, scalding his body as if it had been rolled over by molten iron, stripping away a layer of his skin.
But as countless insects descended on him from all directions, bringing vitality, he quickly recovered.
Donning a new piece of clothing, he surveyed the ground littered with insect corpses, feeling a hint of wariness.
He remembered the power of Nathan's fireball from their first encounter at the Inspectorate Bureau.
Thus, he dared not charge forward again, opting instead to orchestrate a siege with the insects.
Inside the cave, Nathan sat on the ground, with Luna still wearing an angry expression beside him.
"Whoosh!" A pile of assorted items appeared on the ground as Nathan, holding his storage ring, gritted his teeth.
Wait, Luna pulled out a staff.
Nathan quickly took it and released it into the air.
"Do you know the rules of my magic?" Nathan asked, puzzled.
Luna seemed reluctant to elaborate: "I've heard that the Divine Dragon Court has such magic. Today is the first time I've seen it!"
Nathan nodded, turning to Luna, "Give me any magic equipment you don't need!"
Quickly, an afternoon passed by.
Outside, Anthony had amassed a large swarm of insects.
At this point, not just a person, but even a stone, could be devoured in the blink of an eye.
However, the Flame Cloud outside the cave never ceased, fluctuating in intensity, preventing Anthony from daring to let the insects burrow through.
Even so, he was astonished by Nathan's level of magical reserve.
As dusk fell, the cave grew dim.
After Luna handed over her storage bracelet, she had used up all her magic equipment.
Nathan's eyes reddened: "Prepare for a way to die, whether by suicide or falling into Anthony's hands."
In the dim light, Luna's face flushed, and then she took off her magic robe.
"Is this... magic equipment?" Nathan was stunned.
Luna nodded.
Nathan hastily wrapped it around a rock and threw it out.
Fifteen minutes later, Luna, with a flushed face, took off a pair of pants.
"Is this also a piece of magic equipment?" Nathan was speechless.
It seemed the royalty of the Gale Empire was quite wealthy.
Another fifteen minutes passed.
"Close your eyes!" Luna demanded harshly.
Nathan complied.
Luna then removed another piece.
Now, only a close-fitting vest and underwear remained.
Nathan was utterly speechless: "Don't you have any clothes without enchantments?"
"Mm, no," Luna replied softly.
In the dimness, Luna's youthful body radiated vitality.
"Tough!" Nathan couldn't help but sneak a peek.
Hmm!
Not so small...
I never noticed before!
The duration of this Flame Cloud was noticeably shorter.
The quality of the magic equipment was declining.
Seeing Luna had nothing left to remove, Nathan took off his own mage robe and draped it over Luna.
"Take it off!" Nathan gritted his teeth.
Luna's face turned completely red, and under Nathan's large mage robe, she rustled about, eventually removing the last two pieces of magic equipment and, holding them in one hand with her eyes closed, handed them to Nathan.
Nathan, feeling the warmth of the underwear in his hand, also felt his heart racing.
But fortunately, his willpower was strong enough.
In the last moment, he seamlessly connected another Flame Cloud.
Then he took off his own storage ring and two healing rings.
Luna saw this and her eyes widened in shock.
"That..." Luna pointed at the three rings in Nathan's hand, her expression filled with grievance.
It was as if she was saying: I've taken off my underwear, and yet you still keep those useless rings.
Nathan was indifferent to her reproach.
Seeing the sky outside growing dimmer, a sense of urgency rose in his heart.
...
In the underground basement of the observation station on high-60 floating island, Eris closed her eyes, gradually unraveling layers of spatial structures in her mind.
Behind her stood Daniel, wearing an expression of urgency.
Just a moment ago, Lam had taken a team into the forest to search.
As time ticked away, Eris discovered a clue.
She walked to the stairs of the basement, quietly observing for a long while.
Then, she concluded: a space bridge had once connected this place.
But immediately, her brow furrowed in concern.
"But I am currently unable to trace that space bridge." Daniel's eyes showed disappointment, his newly kindled hope dashed again.
He accompanied Eris out of the basement, heading outside the observation station.
Nearly two hours had passed.
By now, finding the missing six seemed impossible.
"But what if we don't look at it from the perspective of their disappearance, but instead from the angle of suspicious aspects of the case?" Eris suddenly suggested.
Just then, Lam returned from the forest alone, hearing Eris's words, he affirmed: "First, we need to find out who is behind all this!"
"Then we can make them hand over the people."
"But we have no leads or evidence!" Daniel said in distress.
Five days ago, he received a report from a freshman.
It claimed that Professor Palin was secretly collecting blood samples from students.
This led the Inspectorate Department to investigate Palin.
They then discovered Palin was summoning dark creatures.
This was the reason behind today's operation by the Inspectorate Department to apprehend Palin.
"The problem now is that Professor Palin's body has disappeared," Daniel added.
"Moreover, I can't recall the name of that freshman." Eris pondered, "Someone must have intentionally hidden this information. Lord Daniel, you must have been subjected to some form of mental manipulation."
Lam said, "From this perspective, our adversary is certainly skilled in illusion magic or psychic attack magic."
Mentioning this, Eris thought of Cliff.
"We need Cliff!" Eris suddenly remembered, Cliff, who was just a step away from reaching the legendary-tier at Nebula Academy, she declared decisively.
Cliff's level had reached the transcendent-tier, making him an expert in these two fields.
...
In the grand council chamber, when Eris entered the Nebula Academy's grand council chamber, Cliff realized the seriousness of the situation.
He stood up from his seat without greeting anyone.
Dean Jones tapped the tabletop lightly with his finger: "Cliff, what has you so agitated?"
"Cliff, if you leave just like this, you'll surely regret it. Sky Sanctuary might be devoid of resources for a long time," Frank threatened from behind.
"If my participation is so critical that the meeting cannot proceed without me, then adjourning it surely seems like a good idea," Cliff, not waiting for Eris to speak, walked out of the council chamber with her.
...
In Sky Sanctuary, "Daniel, release your constraints and think back to that moment," Cliff's demeanor was calm, yet there was a trace of sternness between his brows.
Daniel sat in a chair, closing his eyes, trying to recall the day's events.
However, the face of the student who reported Professor Palin to him was always shrouded in a mist, indiscernible.
The more Daniel tried to remember, the more frustrated he became, nearly driving him mad.
Cliff sensed Daniel's turmoil and opened a book, sketching the image of a beetle with a pencil!