Chapter Eleven: First Battle of Soul Masters (Part Two)

Since he was aware that they harbored murderous intent, Will certainly would not sit idly by and wait for them to make the first move. He raised his arms, moving them in a subtle dance while quickly muttering an incantation: “O element of wind, transform into blades, become the fangs of a fierce beast to rend my foes!”

As the spell echoed, the wind element in the air around them grew instantly active. Dozens of wind blades, each the size of a dagger, materialized out of thin air and howled toward the brawny men before him!

Wei Ling’s gaze had never left Will. When she first saw him cast a fireball spell, an indescribable excitement surged within her. Though there were indeed magicians in the imperial capital, Wei Ling had seldom witnessed any of them actually perform magic. In her eyes, the magicians of the capital were an arrogant yet ignorant lot—possessing talents that others envied, but lacking the will to wield them properly. They took pride in the status and honor that the magician’s profession brought, but felt no true glory in being magicians themselves. She had once personally overheard a rather accomplished magician lament, “It’s a pity I lack the gift of a Soul Master, or else I would never have bothered with this dead-end magic!”

Recalling these memories always stirred an inexpressible anger in her heart. Having studied the continent’s history in depth, she knew well the glory that magic had once enjoyed centuries before. Yet with the passage of time, the profession of Soul Master had utterly supplanted the magician’s former splendor.

Just as Will had said, Wei Ling was indeed rebellious by nature. She utterly disregarded the prevailing trends on the continent, ignored her family’s objections, and insisted on pursuing the path of magic.

But what left Wei Ling feeling helpless was just how rare magic had become on the continent. Even the books preserved in the Magic Guild were few and exceedingly precious, beyond her reach—making her dreams of learning magic seem hopelessly out of reach.

But Will’s appearance suddenly filled her with new hope. Here was a man of mysterious origins, knowledgeable in matters that even advanced magicians did not comprehend. The confidence he displayed in magic gave Wei Ling an odd feeling—as though, within the realm of magic, there was nothing he could not accomplish.

At that moment, Will’s wind blade spell made her heart race once more. She widened her eyes, intent on memorizing every gesture he made, when suddenly a voice she knew better than any other called out from behind her.

“My lady!”

Wei Ling started, turned, and looked up at the tall, loyal figure behind her—Easter.

Easter was the personal bodyguard her father had specially assigned to protect her. Wei Ling was not surprised by his appearance; had he failed to show up in such a situation, that would have been truly strange!

“My lady, this is not a scene suitable for you to witness.”

Without a change in expression, Easter positioned his body in front of her, blocking her view of Will and the brawny men’s confrontation. “That boy is about to take lives. I don’t think you’d care for such a bloody spectacle.”

“Murder? It’s not as if I’ve never seen it before!” Wei Ling muttered in annoyance, but under Easter’s piercing gaze, she reluctantly turned away all the same.

“Uncle Easter, why don’t you help Will and Sola instead? I won’t watch, all right?”

“My lady, rest assured—I will intervene if necessary.”

Hearing Easter’s words, Wei Ling immediately felt a weight lifted from her heart. After all, Easter himself was a Rank Two Grand Soul Master!

On this continent, Soul Masters were ranked from lowest to highest as Soul Practitioner, Soul Master, Grand Soul Master, Martial Soul Master, and Saint Soul Master, each rank divided into ten grades. Generally, even the soldiers of the imperial army were merely grade-five Soul Practitioners. To reach Soul Master was to be considered elite; to become a Grand Soul Master was to be truly formidable!

By that comparison, Easter’s strength was truly extraordinary.

Easter turned his head, fixing his gaze on Will in the distance, a strange light shining in his eyes.

———

Swish!

A wind blade swept across, felling the last burly man in a spray of crimson blood that quickly stained the ground.

Now, only Will and the man named Hanson remained.

Staring at Will standing before him, Hanson frowned unconsciously. The youth before him looked no older than sixteen, yet in this brutal environment, he remained cool and composed—utterly unlike the magicians Hanson had heard of.

In Hanson’s mind, magicians were arrogant, useless trash. Yet this boy, young as he was, showed no sign of fear at the sight of blood. He wiped a smear of blood from his face with casual ease and looked up at Hanson with cold eyes.

“Hmph! It seems I’ve underestimated you,” Hanson growled, stepping forward. Suddenly, a strange glow radiated from his body, and the image of a gray wolf appeared upon him.

“A Soul Master?” Will’s face betrayed a hint of surprise at the sight. The wolf that emerged from Hanson was jade green, its face twisted and fearsome, instilling an inexplicable dread. Bathed in the wolf’s light, Hanson’s whole body glowed faintly green, and a mysterious pressure swept over Will, causing his expression to shift.

Having resolved to fight, Hanson wasted no time. With a roar, he summoned a mass of emerald energy into his hands, which became sharp blades as he shot toward Will like a cannonball!

Facing a Soul Master for the first time, Will grew cautious, retreating several steps and chanting rapidly, “O element of earth, pierce all things—Shadowgrove Spikes!”

Bang!

At the instant Hanson charged, countless black earthen spikes erupted from the ground. Their tips were razor-sharp, seemingly able to pierce anything. Hanson, caught off guard by Will’s command of earth magic, twisted aside in alarm to avoid them.

“O element of wind, transform into blades, become the fangs of a fierce beast to rend my foes!”

Having studied Soul Masters, Will judged Hanson to be about a grade-three Soul Practitioner—far superior in close quarters. From the outset, he used earth spikes to keep their distance, then seized the moment as Hanson dodged to cast wind blades at him!

“Hmph!”

Hanson met Will’s fierce attack with a cold snort. Not even touching the ground, he twisted in mid-air, emerald blades erupting from his hands like the claws of a wolf, slashing down upon Will’s wind blades!

Bang!

The claws struck the wind blades with a harsh, muffled noise. The blades were instantly shattered, while Hanson himself was unscathed, a hint of disdain curling his lips as he twisted and lunged at Will once more.

Perhaps because his soul beast was a wolf, Hanson was incredibly fast. Now that he was prepared, Will’s earth spikes were useless against him!

“O element of wind, transform into blades, become the fangs of a fierce beast to rend my foes!”

Frowning, Will quickly changed tactics. He cast wind blades again, and as Hanson’s claws swung to deflect them, he released another spell in rapid succession!

“O element of ice, form countless spears—impale my mortal enemy!”

In an instant, three crystalline ice spears appeared in midair, transforming into pale streaks of light as they howled toward Hanson.

Hanson had not expected Will to command four different elements. This only deepened his resolve to kill such a formidable foe. With a shout, he raised his arms, a dark green light surging forth as his claws grew several times larger, coming down hard to shatter the three ice spears before leaping at Will once more!

“O element of earth, pierce all things—Shadowgrove Spikes!”
“O element of wind, transform into blades, become the fangs of a fierce beast to rend my foes!”

Seeing Hanson charging again, Will swiftly cast another earth spike spell, followed instantly by wind blades. But this time, Hanson was determined to end Will here and now. Using his razor-sharp claws to shield his vital points, he charged through the barrage, heedless of injury!

“O element of ice…”

Seeing his two spells fail to stop Hanson, Will retreated, frantically chanting the incantation for the ice spear spell. But how could a magician’s speed compare to a Soul Master’s—especially one famed for swiftness? Before Will could finish his chant, Hanson was already upon him!

“Hmph! Too late—die!”

A cruel smile twisted Hanson’s face as he raised his claws high to strike. But at that moment, he saw the faintest hint of a smile on Will’s lips.

“Something’s wrong!”

In a flash, a chilling sense of danger seized Hanson. His pupils contracted, but before he could react, a rapid series of piercing sounds filled his ears—“swish, swish, swish!”—and a wave of excruciating pain flooded his body!

The green claws in his hands began to dissipate. Even the image of the wolf faded from his body. His eyes widened in agony and disbelief, and in his chest, three crystalline ice spears had pierced him through.

What… what happened?

Blood seeped from Hanson’s lips as he staggered, then crashed heavily to the ground.

Looking at the lifeless corpse, Will finally let out a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his brow, and said coolly, “I forgot to mention one thing: I never actually need to recite incantations to cast magic…”