Advent of the Archmage

"Arghhh!!!!"

Immediately after the bell stopped tolling, a roar reverberated throughout the village. This roar contained hatred, anguish, and insanity. It made all those who heard it tremble in fear.

In the fortress in the center of Spring Leaf Village, in the cafeteria, Balha sat on the ground, hugging his wife in his embrace and crying loudly out to the sky.

"Ahhhhhh, ahhhhh!" His voice had broken, his eyes were wide open and bloodshot. The sides of his eyes were marked with tears and blood, turning into a light red liquid that trickled down his face.

His wife's face was green and her lips black. She already had no strength left in her. At Balha's side was strewn the corpses of elves. No, that's not right. It was more appropriate to say that elven body parts lay around Balha, because there was not a single elf corpse that was still intact.

Every single elf in the hall was killed. None was left alive.

After hugging her for a long time, Balha suddenly said softly, "Anlis, my dear, sleep peacefully. In the other world, you will not be alone. I will send many Laguan slaves to accompany you and serve you and our child."

Carefully, he placed Anlis's body on the ground and stood up. One step at a time, he walked towards the main door. Upon reaching the door, he declared loudly, "Men, hear my orders! Kill every single Laguan in the city. Do not leave even a single one alive."

The captain of the guard hesitated. "Lord, that…"

Balha hatefully stared at him, killing intent brimming in his eyes. "Anlis is dead, don't tell me I'm not supposed to get revenge? My unborn child was killed, should I not get revenge?! This was done by the pathetic Laguan Dregs. They will pay the price!"

The captain of the guard decided to hold his tongue. He could vaguely feel that if he said anything more, he would be the next one to die.

"Understood, Lord. Kill all the Laguans!"

The order quickly transmitted throughout Spring Leaf Village to all the army camps. The soldiers in every army camp rushed out like fierce wolves and tigers, spreading out in all directions and killing every single Laguan they saw. The dwarves were not spared either.

Most of the Laguans in the Spring Leaf Village were slaves and wore slave collars. They simply had no strength to resist.

The whole village was suddenly engulfed in a stench of blood.

In the magic school, Link was still unaware of what was going on. However, as he stood on the balcony, he noticed soldiers killing elves en masse in the streets.

They didn't stop with slaves on the streets but rushed into the shops and residences. "Lord's orders, all Laguans are to be killed!"

Link watched as the soldiers dragged elves out into the streets, where they were beheaded and diced into small parts. Some residents attempted to stop what was going on, but they too were simply chopped to death by the soldiers.

There was no compassion, no pity, no hesitation, only bloody, cold-hearted slaughter.

These soldiers were blood-crazed!

Link found his heart pounding. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew that the situation was not good. He might be safe, but as for Princess Milda and Riel, they would definitely be killed.

The magic school was now in chaos as the enslaved elves were trying to escape in any way they could. Link saw Fu standing guard at the gate, trying to maintain order. However, he was simply ignored.

Very soon, the soldiers approached the school. Fu walked up to them and raised his hand to obstruct them, declaring, "This is Magician Rockman's property. You cannot—"

The blood-crazed soldiers obviously paid him no heed. They raised their weapons and slashed off his head. Link was stunned.

He knew that he could not hesitate any more. The recent changes spoiled his plans to slowly raise his strength in a safe environment.

He turned back into the house and looked at the frightened Princess Milda and Riel. "We can't stay here anymore; we've got to go. Milda, let down your hair, try to use it to cover your ears. Also, wear a hat."

Milda had been staying inside the building without going out. She thought that she would be safe, so she was wearing a simple dress.

The dress was simple and plain, and it would look normal on a regular person. On her, however, the plain dress made her look as beautiful as an angel from the moon. It was enough to make people go crazy with desire.

She had to change her clothing.

Princess Milda ran into the room and hurriedly changed her clothes. Just as she had removed her dress, the stone door was kicked aside and a soldier covered in blood rushed in. "Hand over all your Laguan slaves or die!"

This soldier was an expert, and his speed was naturally fast. He wouldn't give people any time to react. When he saw Riel, he immediately rushed over with his sword striking out.

Clang. Nana intercepted his blow with her dagger.

"What? You dare? Looking for death!" The soldier was a Level-8 expert. His short sword flickered and changed direction towards Nana's neck. Nana immediately retreated, and Link rushed forward in her place.

Link held the Dragon King's Wrath in his right hand and the Burning Wrath of Heaven's wand in his left. He pointed the wand forward, casting a Spatial Shackles spell.

Whoosh. The Spatial Shackles appeared, and the soldier's movements immediately stopped. Link took the chance to attack him, slapping hard onto his neck.

Smack. The hit knocked the soldier out. His eyes turned white, and he collapsed to the ground.

Seeing another soldier rushing towards the house, Link shouted, "Come with me!"

He turned and rushed towards Milda's changing room. "Milda, we have no time, we're leaving now!"

As he said this, he pushed open the door to the room.

"Ahh!" Milda was halfway through changing, and her top half was still exposed. As Link charged in, Milda yelped and turned around. Link saw a snow-white body, with skin as fair as jade. There were two shapely round mounds on her chest, with a cherry red tip at each end. Link was momentarily stunned.

Riel was behind Link and couldn't see what was going on. He immediately asked, "What! What's going on? Did they charge into this room too?"

Link did not have time to explain. He took out a mantle and draped it over the blushing Princess Milda, covering her exposed chest and body.

Just then, a shout of rage came from the door as a soldier charged in. "Who! Who dares to defy the Lord's order?!"

Whoosh. Link cast a dimensional jump without the slightest hesitation, and the group vanished, reappearing in a small street half a mile away.

The instant he left, Rockman appeared from the pagoda. He was fuming. "Who's kicking up a ruckus in my yard!"

He saw a soldier rushing into the slave girls yard and was about to begin killing people. Immediately, he flew into a rage and, not caring for his own injuries, grasped at the soldier from 30 meters away. An invisible force appeared and grabbed onto the soldier's clothing, throwing him out.

Slam. The soldier smashed into a stone wall and crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Magician Rockman's status was high, and he was also very powerful. No one could simply kill him that easily. One leader ran up to him and explained, his face solemn. "Sir, the Laguan's poisoned Lady Anlis. The Lord has ordered for all the Laguan's to be killed. We are carrying out his orders."

"What! Anlis was killed? F*ck, this is a disaster!"

Rockman was very clear about the implications of this. Balha was a crazy dog. Anlis was the only one who could control him. Now, Anlis was dead, and she was also carrying another life inside of her. That was two people killed! Anyone would be enraged at something like this. One can only imagine how Balha would react.

At this moment, Balha must have lost all sense of reasoning. Even Rockman didn't dare to go forth to stop him.

Rockman sighed. "You may kill all the Laguans you see. However, there is a black haired girl that isn't a Laguan. She's a gift for Great Lord Bal. Leave her alive."

Rockman had already compromised. The leader didn't dare to ask for anything more. He waved the rest of the soldiers forward. "Do as Sir Rockman ordered," he instructed.

…

Outside the city

Link and the others reappeared in a street outside the city. Before they even had the chance to regain their footing, they heard the sound of horses coming from behind. Not far, a troop of soldiers was riding down a large street from the city gates. Judging from their direction, they were probably going to attack the Laguan village.

There were 30 soldiers, all of whom were over Level-8. The one at the front who was most likely the captain was Level-10. At this moment, they laid eyes upon Link's party, specifically Princess Milda.

There were many small differences between humans and elves. This wasn't limited to their ears, but also their figures, skin tone, hair color. To Araguans, this difference was very obvious.

Two seconds after seeing them, the captain shouted. "Stop right there! Hand over the Laguan slave."

Only an idiot would stand still at this moment.

Link immediately cast a dimensional jump.

"Dare to leave?" The captain bellowed. He immediately drew out his bow and fired an arrow at Link.

The captain was a Level-10 Warrior. Even if he casually fired an arrow, the arrow's power would still be immense. The arrow flew forward, leaving a streak of light behind it. Around the arrow's body, the air rippled. In fact, there were even sound vibrations, like that of thunder.

It wasn't just him. The other 30 soldiers also released their arrows, covering the sky in a rain of arrows. The arrows were fast and numerous. Against an attack like this, Link didn't dare to multi-task. That was too dangerous.

He immediately canceled the dimensional jump and instructed Nana. "Bring them away, I'll stop these guys!"

While he said this, Link focused his power and consumed 1000 Dragon Power points to cast a Spatial Distortion spell. The space distorted and knocked the rain of arrows aside. Amidst the distortion field, all the arrows experienced a strong attraction force. After leaving the field, the arrows changed direction, landing around Link but never getting within three meters of him.

"Hmph! You still dare to oppose us? Kill him!"

The captain released his Battle Aura. He jumped from the horse's back, releasing more and more Battle Aura as he sailed through the air. He took three mid-air steps, instantaneously crossing a span of 150 feet, appearing 30 feet in front of Link. From that distance, he slashed down with his sword.