Hiss——!
The eerie hissing sound echoed through the gray-blue corridor.
A colossal, pitch-black bat monster that almost touched the ceiling surged across the corridor, its rough skin scraping against the walls and creating a grating noise.
Herard peeked out from a room with the door open and watched as the dark monster disappeared, his expression somewhat grim.
He turned to the empty gray-blue corridor on his left and cursed silently!
"Useless things, they still haven't brought Colin over!"
When Silear approached him initially, he was confident. But now, it was taking so long just to bring someone over!
Herard looked around: the gray-blue corridor was completely empty, which unnerved him.
"Could it be that Silear has been killed by the dark monster?"
It wasn't impossible. Although most of the higher-ranked monsters gathered on the upper floors, some still made their way to the lower levels.
Considering the dark monster that had just passed, judging by its presence alone, it must at least possess the prowess of a First Rank Advanced Wizard!
A pang of regret hit Herard for choosing this time to cause trouble for Colin.
"Wait another five minutes, and if Silear still hasn't arrived, I'll head to a safe place!"
After making this decision, his mood gradually steadied.
After all, as Silear said, if not now, there might not be such a good opportunity to deal with Colin later.
Moreover, he had chosen this moment himself…
Silear did not know about this attack. He had approached Herard merely wanting to act after the airship reached its destination...
Unfortunately, this moment, in hindsight, wasn't opportune.
Herard shifted his gaze away and returned to the room.
He looked at the corpse of an Advanced Wizard Apprentice lying in front of him, his heart sinking slightly.
He had thought that since the high-rank Wizards were aware of the impending attack, everything would have been according to their plans!
Not that the attack would result in no damage at all.
But at least the lives of Wizards below the Second Rank like themselves were supposed to be guaranteed, with not too many deaths.
They hadn't expected that these dark monsters would invade as if entering an undefended realm.
Those high-rank Wizards had not set up any countermeasures at all!
From the start of the attack till now, barely ten minutes had passed, and he had heard countless screams while staying in this room!
If the dark monsters were of a weaker variety, they as First Rank Wizards might handle them.
But for the Apprentices, any monster was overwhelmingly formidable.
The unfortunate Advanced Apprentice lying in front of him was the owner of this room and had died tragically at the start of the attack.
Clang.
A noise of metal clashing came from nearby, mixed with a Wizard's scream.
"Who knows which poor fellow that is…" Herard listened intently while vigilantly watching the open door.
"Hmm?"
Just then,
another sound of metal clashing came—but this time,
right beside him!
Herard's expression turned frantic.
He hastily bolstered his Defensive Witchcraft to its strongest!
Clang!!
Before he could see what it was, he felt an incredibly powerful impact hit his left chest.
"I can't fend it off!"
As the defensive Spiritual Light flickered, Herard shouted, and in a critical moment, while the Spiritual Light hadn't yet shattered, he tried desperately to shift his body.
In the next instant, his defenses shattered.
Whoosh!
Due to friction, the glowing red Cone Bullet, spinning, shot into his left shoulder, and then burst out from behind his shoulder, continuing its unstoppable trajectory into the gray-blue wall, finally falling to the ground.
It made a tinkling sound.
"So close..."
Colin sighed slightly from the shadows.
Though Herard appeared arrogant and overbearing, he was not without caution in combat.
Unlike Silear, Herard had deployed his Defensive Witchcraft early.
He had observed for a few minutes; just now had been the best chance… and even for the element of surprise, he chose to shoot from the wall instead of the open doorway.
While his thoughts were extensive, Colin didn't cease his actions.
He had earlier inquired with Lillian, knowing that Herard was only a First Rank Intermediate Wizard, the same level as Silear.
With the Foolishness Scepter empowering him, he could handle it!
One after another, lined-up Cone Bullets shot rapidly toward Herard.
Then, an orange-yellow Fireball emerged, following behind the Cone Bullets, shooting towards Herard, and midway, transformed into the Fire Element charging forward!
"Damn it! Who exactly is it!"
Herard pressed on the hole in his left shoulder, roaring in his heart while hurriedly taking out Defensive Witch Tools for temporary resistance.
Such an attack… this assailant clearly had no intention of leaving him any way out!
"Renel? Or Libel?"
He had offended too many people on ordinary days, and he couldn't think for the moment who would choose this time to complicate things.
As for Colin… merely an Apprentice who had just advanced to First Rank Wizard, he had never considered seriously.
The attack continued.
By strength, each attack was on the level of First Rank Middle Witchcraft in even battles.
If one side lost the initiative, it generally meant they were doomed to defeat.
"Renel, Lord Eugene is on the airship. Have you considered the consequences if you kill me?!"
Herard struggled to respond, seeing he could barely hold on any longer, fear gradually surfacing in his mind, he couldn't help but shout recklessly.
But his words had no effect; the attack was as steady as ever, making one despair.
Herard was furiously anxious.
Apparently to facilitate the attack, that Fire Element had already torn down a wall.
He could now clearly see that the attack was coming from not far around the corner of the corridor, but still, he couldn't see any specific figure.
"Libel, you cowardly rat!"
Herard shouted again.
While shouting, he carefully paid attention to the movements around him.
If he was not mistaken, there was a rumbling sound starting to approach from a distance.
Herard's face lit up with joy.
Just then,
Swoosh!
Silent!
A semi-transparent witchcraft brilliance swept past, preventing any of his words from getting out.
Herard paused slightly, feeling as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on his heart.
The Fire Element next to him seized this opportunity.
It grabbed Herard by the collar and opened its huge mouth.
Boom!!
An orange-red Flame Pillar immediately burst out from its mouth, pouring over Herard's face!!
"Ahhhh—!!" Herard screamed in pain, using his last strength to annihilate the Fire Element.
But he also fell to the ground, exhausted.
Perhaps the half-cooked brain from the flames finally became clear.
Lying on the ground, Herard suddenly muttered,
"Colin... it's you!"
The attack paused imperceptibly.
A glint passed through Herard's eyes, and he continued,
"Colin, don't you want to know how Lillian is?"
Meanwhile, his left hand moved slightly, trying to secretly activate the silver badge he had quietly taken out.
But the next second,
A savage orange-yellow reflection filled his pupils.
"No—!!!"
Herard cried out in despair.
A fireball, even larger than the previous ones, enveloped him.
The extreme temperature made igniting him look as easy as setting a clump of weeds on fire.
Flames surged upwards.
The pain of his burning body caused Herard to scream out in agony, his voice like the cries of the bloodstained.
But these sounds were all bound by invisible witchcraft, failing to transmit slightly.
Just like that, Herard soon turned into a lump of charred remains.
Seeing this, Colin rounded the corner.
Although his experience in battle was not abundant, he knew well the adage of 'delay breeds danger.'
In his recent battle with Herard, if he had hesitated for a moment, or had not been cautious enough to notice Herard's covert actions,
The result now might not have been like this...
After cautiously making a few more strikes, Colin, just as he had treated Silear's body, left only the Magic Stone and tossed Herard's body and all other belongings off the airship.
The whistling wind blew past his ears,
Colin watched as Herard's body fell into the clouds and was then torn apart like ripped cotton by a huge creature...
Half an hour had passed since the creature attacked.
Yet, at this moment, the airship was still filled with the sounds of rampant beasts and the screams of unfortunate wizards, with no reduction in the surrounding creatures.
Vibration—
The light of witchcraft faded, and Colin's originally stern face regained its liveliness, a trace of worry appearing on his face.
To conserve Magic Power, he had deactivated Mechanical Mind.
'Half an hour has passed, yet the situation inside the airship is still like this, I wonder about the adults…'
Colin withdrew his gaze, listening to the sounds around him, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
He shook his head, no longer hesitating, and quickly headed towards his room.
Although in the recent battle, he was not at all affected by Herard's final words.
But he was not the type to forget favors and violate morals; it was difficult not to care about Lillian's safety.
And now it seemed likely that Silear had perhaps lied; Lillian probably still did not know the true reason behind the attack.
The higher the position, the greater the danger...
If Lillian, like Witch Milo, blindlessly aimed for a high position, she might be in danger.
But more likely, Lillian was also searching for him.
Through the gray corridor, as Colin was thinking, he sped along, heading towards his room.