"Captain, what's going on up ahead?" Lorry said in a quiet voice to Hillman.
A hint of a smile played at Hillman's lips. "That mysterious magus seems to be at odds with that party over there. Just stay here and watch. No need for us to interfere." Hillman himself was only a warrior of the sixth rank. In truth, he didn't dare to interfere either.
The Velocidragon alone was something he would not be able to fight off, much less the mysterious magus.
The strength of the seven-man party in front of the magus was not weak either. Five of them were warriors, while the other two were magi. The leader of their party was a powerfully built man with tousled red hair, who rode a pitch-black iron bull. The two sharp horns of the iron bull glittered under the light, dark and deadly.
Its blood-red eyes gave testament to the true nature of this bull –"Vampiric Iron Bull", a magical beast of the fifth rank.
With a snort, smoke began to emit from the bull's nostrils as well.
Of the seven people in the party, four were men, three were women. Both of the magi were women, while the third woman was an archer. Aside from the Vampiric Iron Bull, a huge griffin floated in mid-air.
"Griffin"– a magical beast of the fourth rank!
It had the head of a lion, but a pair of enormous, powerful wings. For a party to have two magical beasts and two magi, clearly this adventuring party was no ordinary one.
"Youngsters, it'd be better if you handed the d'Bero shadow diamond over." The mysterious man seated on the Velocidragon said a second time, his voice cold.
"Lord magus, we don't wish to be your enemy, but in order to acquire this d'Bero shadow diamond, we spent countless amounts of time and effort. The value of it exceeds a hundred thousand gold coins, but you, lord magus, want to buy it from us for just seven hundred coins. This… this is impossible." The red-haired leader of the group said in a solemn voice.
Listening to the conversation from far away, Linley, by Hillman's side, now understood everything.
So this mysterious magus wanted to spend seven hundred gold to purchase this d'Bero shadow diamond which was worth a hundred thousand.
"Wow, the price of that diamond…" Linley was shocked. "For it to be worth so much money, clearly this d'Bero shadow diamond must have some significance attached to it. Otherwise, it wouldn't cause this magus to be willing to lower his status and try to forcibly buy it."
An offer of seven hundred gold, for an item worth a hundred thousand. No wonder the small party was unwilling to accept.
"Hmph." The mysterious magus coldly harrumphed.
"I only have seven hundred gold on me. Right now, I'm still willing to use money to buy it from you. If you lot don't know how to take a few steps back and do what's best for you…then not only will you not receive a single gold coin, you will also lose your little lives." The magus said in a frozen voice.
"Grrrrrrrr."
The Velocidragon, taller than most of the houses in the town, let out a deep growl, causing all the houses nearby to shudder.
"Captain, we risked our lives to obtain this d'Bero shadow diamond. How can we so easily cower in front of this guy and give it away?" A woman in black said coldly. As an experienced adventuring party, these seven people had experienced many battles and wouldn't easily submit.
The red-haired captain said in a solemn voice, "Honored lord magus, I am of the Kingdom of Fenlai's 'Cayley' clan…"
This captain wanted to use his background to force the opponent down.
But unfortunately, powerful magi usually were eccentric and didn't give a whit about noble families.
"You all have chosen death." The mysterious magus sneered coldly.
"Careful." In a flash, the seven-person party raised its guard. The four warriors charged in front, the female archer in the back pulled out her strongest bow, and the two female magi began to prepare magic.
"ROAAAAR!"
The huge Velocidragon opened its mouth, and an enormous plume of fire erupted from its fangs, headed directly for the party.
Where the fire came near, the very stone road underneath the fireblast began to warp, crack, and even shatter from the intense heat as the entire road charred black.
"Careful."
The red-haired leader said in a deep voice, as his entire body became suffused with red-colored battle-qi. The other three warriors activated their battle-qi as well.
The red-haired leader wielded an enormous claymore in his two hands. With rapid speed, he fiercely swung it against a nearby stone wall, and with a thundering sound, the stone wall collapsed, as hundreds of rocks rolled down to the floor and dust exploded outwards.
Just at this time, the fire from the Velocidragon enveloped the four men, who used their battle-qi to resist it.
"Hah!"
The red-haired man kicked a large rock nearly half a meter long at the magus.
The other three warriors did the same, also kicking large rocks with the speed and power of enormous slingshots. The four rocks split the air, howling as they pierced forth towards the magus seated on the huge Velocidragon.
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
One after another, a barrage of rocks assaulted the magus. In the twinkling of an eye, all the rocks from the collapsed wall were used up.
Seeing this battle from afar, Linley's hands were tightly clenched.
"How incredible. They actually dare to use their feet to kick such huge rocks." Watching the four men unceasingly kick the huge rocks, he felt all the more in awe of warriors in general. "Although, the Velocidragon is even more terrifying!"
Staring at the Velocidragon, Linley watched as its whip-like tail snapped about, dancing in front of it.
"Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!"
One giant rock after another was smashed into smithereens. The rocks couldn't even come close to harming the magus on the Velocidragon's back.
"Swoosh!" The Velocidragon's tail seemed to be totally unimpeded. It covered an enormous area, and whenever it casually passed by a stone house, it sliced through it as though the house was made of mud. The stones would be shattered without any resistance. As one house after another began to collapse, stones rolled about everywhere and the entire area was bathed in dust.
"Roaaaar!" Even in the middle of the dust storm, the Velocidragon's mighty roar could be heard, and it continued to vomit fire from its jaws.
This entire time, the two female magi in the back of the party were continuously mumbling magical incantations in a light voice. The words of magic were completely different from the common tongue spoken on the Yulan continent. It was much more awkward-sounding and complex. Before too much time had passed, the two female magi finished their incantations!
"Protective Icy Carapace!"
The two female magi chanted out in a low voice. Bright light erupted from their bodies, with four rays covering the four male warriors with a translucent, crystalline armor.
The red-haired leader was delighted. With the protective icy carapace supporting his battle-qi, he now felt more confident in this battle.
"Attack!" The red-haired leader ordered.
The four warriors shot out four more rocks at nearly the same time, attacking the mounted magus simultaneously. Immediately following, the four warriors charged forward like arrows released from bows as they shot towards the Velocidragon.