2277 Rescue

“Master Ipter, my lord.”
The burning air still lingered beneath the gradually fading crimson night sky. The sorcerers of the Magic Empire had reoccupied this place, gathering around the tower and incessantly pouring magical light down below. At the same time, they transmitted their reports to the figure of a young man stationed in the center: “The adventurers gathered here have exceeded a thousand. We have organized our members for the counterattack, look—”
“It certainly doesn't look like a rabble. If you hadn't acted in time, this tower might have already fallen into enemy hands.” Not responding immediately to his subordinate's deliberately elongated inquiry, Sphinx fiddled with his own similarly singed and messy hair: “While I really want to thank you all for your hard work in this defense battle, however… it really isn’t the time to celebrate victory just yet.”
“Sir, what do you mean?” The wizards surrounding him exchanged glances, and a momentary look of concern appeared on their faces: “We—”
“No, no, no, I never said I wanted to give up this place.” With a smile, the handsome young man shook his head leisurely and then looked back at the tower behind him: “There are still so many people counting on my tower to complete their research. Even if I don’t consider myself, I have to think about my ‘guests,’ although—”
“At this point, I can no longer guarantee the safety of the guests.”
Amid the falling rain of magic, shooting stars reversed their flight, and the light directed at the group of magicians above gradually transformed into the form of sword energy as it neared. Several magicians who were grazed by the sword energy immediately dodged to the sides, injured, which created a brief gap in both the formation of the magicians and the continuous barrage of magic spells. Rising sparks of starlight accurately seized the moment of fire suppression in the air, and several waves of sword energy posed deadly threats to the increasingly numerous figures floating above. A Sphinx leisurely swatted at some of the nearby sword energies, letting out a more contented low laugh, accompanied by the rustling sound of the magical pages floating around him: “Such a beautiful scene; it would be a real shame if it weren't properly documented.”
“Sir, please proceed to the back.” At this moment, some magicians also gathered around: “It's really too dangerous here.”
“Dangerous? How could that be?” With a casual wave of his hand, Sphinx merely closed his eyes slightly, as if he were carefully listening to the rustling sounds written on the pages of his spellbook: “While the ‘fireworks’ of a few mortal adventurers counterattacking are indeed delightful, they cannot even write down a single page of ‘Horus.’ Only those truly qualified to write—”
“It should be there now.”
As if sensing something, he pointed towards a certain dark corner down below with his eyes closed. Several approaching wizards immediately turned their heads, displaying alert expressions in the direction Sphinx had indicated—at that deep spot in the night sky, one corner of the already lit base of the tower was now a scene of destruction, collapsed and in disarray. Meanwhile, out of their sight, a few people represented by Duan Qing were also on high alert, as they prepared to confront the staggering figure gradually emerging from the shadows outside the wall: “...No need... to be nervous, cough cough... cough cough cough cough...”
“Freya?”
Instantly recognizing the identity of the person, the magic rune in Duan Qing's hand was hurriedly put away as he quickly crossed over the sword light of Xueling Huabing, catching the falling body of the girl who had plunged into the glow in his arms: “You, how did you get here? No, how—”
“She sustained serious injuries.” Looking at the gray-robed wizard beginning to cast a healing spell, Mephisto, who was behind him, spoke in a low voice, finishing the unvoiced conclusion of the other: “Although I didn't deliberately pay attention to the battle in the sky above, judging by the current situation, the outcome is already quite clear.”
“That Sphinx actually has such strength?” The San Sheng Fish Pond, who rushed over to check the situation as well, quickly asked, “But we never heard of such a character before! Freya is one of the seven seats of the council!”
“I have seen this situation before; it is the result of a destroyed domain.”
Responding with a deep sigh, the gray-robed wizard, facing away from the crowd, appeared only as a flicker of light in the magical glow: “We encountered a similar situation on our way to the principality earlier. Although the magical domains cast by wizards are powerful, the 'rebound' after their destruction is also very evident.”
“Although 'destroying the magical realm' itself is quite challenging, as it is almost equivalent to directly confronting the opponent's strongest point, ... it is not impossible.” The gray-robed wizard continued with his head lowered, “That Sphinx Song has accomplished it.”
“He... cough cough... indeed is very... strong.” The once magnificent fire-red magic robe was now somewhat tattered, and Freya's half-reclining body in front of Duan Qing was continuously rising and falling under the healing magic light: “But... in the end... I still... held back some... power, so...”
“Why do you have to work so hard?” Snow Spirit Illusion Ice, who was squatting beside the two, couldn't help but ask in a low voice, “Why did you rush out?”
“It was Rona… who told me.”
The emerald glow gradually sank into her chest, and it seemed that Duan Qing's healing had finally taken some effect. The once pale face of Freya, surrounded by red, regained some color, and her slightly weak eyes turned towards the white-haired swordswoman: "She told me... some things, and also... informed me about my sister's condition..."
“Christine? What happened to her?” Despite the ongoing rescue efforts, the low question from Duan Qing paused for a moment: “Isn't she still over there in the library?”
“She really... is still over there, and during this time... we have been... continuously... searching for... ways to treat her.” Freya replied in a fragmented voice, “The road to the tower... the research... hasn't made progress. I feel truly helpless... so... I went to consult... that pair of sisters...”
“I didn't expect you to become a follower of the Fate Weavers as well.” So Duan Qing could only sigh and say, “So it was those sisters of the Fate Weavers who directed you to come here?”
“……”
It seemed that Freya had lost her last bit of strength and closed her eyes, no longer responding. Xueling Huabing hurriedly checked her and then also breathed a sigh of relief, nodding as she helped the gray-robed wizard lift Freya into a corner of the tower: "She's fine; she should just be unconscious."
“She needs to rest,” Mephisto said in a low voice. “But that doesn’t align with our current environment and objectives.”
“No, that’s right, this place is just too dangerous!” The young swordsman, who had been at a loss from the beginning, finally found the opportunity to interject. “Shouldn’t we get her to a safe place first?”
“Can you handle this job?”
“Me? No, no, no, no, I definitely can’t!”
Faced with the inquiry from Duan Qing that followed closely behind, the young swordsman known as the Bun abruptly shook his head like a rattle drum: “I, let’s all go together! I can be your scout, do some reconnaissance or something—why are you all looking at me like that?”
“Perhaps you are not yet aware that among our team, only you have the opportunity to do this.” Looking at Duan Qing as she continued to pass various magical potions and magical gems to Fureya, Xueling Huanyin replied without turning her head, “It's not that we lack strength; we just can't leave.”
“If she hadn't shown up, we might have already started climbing the tower by now.” Without pausing his actions, a muffled voice belonging to Duan Qing came from the corner: “The situation inside the tower is unclear, and now with Freya's restraint gone, once that Sphinx returns, we will completely lose the chance to ascend the tower.”
“But I, I also can't escort her out! I, I don't have that ability?” As if feeling the immense pressure, the young swordsman’s voice became somewhat unsteady: “I, I don't know any magic either. If we were to leave, I could only carry her; how could I have the energy to fight? What if we encounter that mysterious expert again?”
“……The situation has indeed become a bit complicated.”
A brief silence fell between the team members, and then a low, contemplative voice emerged from Xue Linghuan Bing. She glanced at the open gap of the high tower where the flames still flickered, and her great sword gently rose and fell with her breath: “Unless we abandon this mission, otherwise—”
“Perhaps it would be better for you to give up; I have no complaints.” Cutting off the words of Xue Ling Huan Bing, the response from Mephisto carried a hint of a hoarse laugh: “You three take the archmage and leave; San Sheng and I will continue to search for our things, how about that?”
“No, we will not be people of our word.” The low response from Duan Qing sounded determined and resolute: “The plan remains unchanged, and we will help you complete the task of finding that artifact.”
“Since we can't pass this hot potato on, let's just continue moving forward like this,” said the gray-robed sorcerer, as he took out the emerald stone that Mephisto had previously gifted him. “How many of these stones do you have on hand? Can you pass them to me now?”
“Give me a little time, I might be able to 'rescue' things properly.”
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Freya had a dream.
Even though she hadn't dreamt in a long time, Freya still remembered the sensation of dreaming. So when she saw Christine standing in front of her, smiling, she immediately confirmed she was dreaming. A warm, floating feeling surrounded her as she and her sister laughed and flew around. They soared over mountains and crossed oceans until that cold sensation struck again, and the dream version of Christine began to blur and drift away. Only then did she consciously want to stop the dream from leaving: “... No, don't go...”
"Don't!"
The heavy sound of impact created ripples of magic, and the thunderous, muffled noise felt surprisingly light against her still-recovering hearing. As Freya slowly opened her eyes, what greeted her was the sight of a magical shield quivering incessantly in front of a large number of falling debris: "What is this—?"
“She’s awake? She’s awake!”
The loud voice immediately stimulated her hearing, causing Freya to involuntarily frown. Lying on the ground, she slightly turned her head to bring the figure standing beside her, who had been nervously observing her and was now standing up and shouting loudly, into her view: “Everyone look! The great magician is awake! You predicted it accurately!”
“Nonsense, if I can't even handle this, then I might as well not be an alchemist at all.” His shout was soon met with a response from a nearby gray-robed wizard, whose trembling hands were struggling to maintain the magic shield: “And if he doesn’t wake up soon, my shield won't hold much longer either.”
“You take a break for a while; I'll take care of the rest.” A figure with a hint of white hair then flashed past him, pushing him toward the position where Freya was: “Hurry and check your results.”
Continuously recalling the series of situations she had encountered earlier, Freya struggled to sit up, the crisp sound of clinking resonating as something slid down from her chest. The great magician looked down, only to see some transparent gems that had lost their luster and were now shattered: "What is this...?"
“A temporary thing used.” Duan Qing, who arrived beside her, responded: “Of course, I used my magician's disc to amplify it; otherwise, it wouldn't have taken effect so quickly.”
“Is it... the life energy?” Fureya felt her chest, clenching her fist with force: “The effect is actually so obvious?”
“Don't be too quick to rejoice; such extreme measures are generally not very effective.” Her confusion was immediately clarified by Duan Qing: “Moreover, you probably won’t be able to recover immediately. How much you recover depends on your own experience.”
“Reaching the edge of the abyss.”
In the intense scene where distant players managed to block all incoming attacks, Freya solemnly recited the name of the gray-robed wizard: “Thank you.”
“What we should be grateful for is ourselves.” Without raising his head while examining Freya's body, Duan Qing replied, “It was you who held off that Sphinx for so long; otherwise, it would be us dead by now.”
“But your situation still doesn't seem too good.” Looking up at the snow spirit, Xue Ling Huan Bing, who was leading the defense and constantly waving her great sword not far away, Freya shook her head: “I’m already powerless to stop that guy now.”
“It's fine, I didn't wake you up just to make you a combat asset.” Duan Qing replied in a low voice: “Waking you up was purely my personal decision, after all—”
“Rona and Shana specifically sent you here, definitely not just to be a punching bag.”