Matthew’s face flushed with a mix of shame and anger.
Just as he was about to retort, the ice spear behind Luca had already cut through the air in a blue streak.
In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of the fireball!
Under the astonished gazes of Matthew and Freeman, the two collided with a deafening roar!
“Boom!!”
The massive fireball burst like a balloon, shattering into countless sparks!
The ice spear pierced through the fiery rain, its momentum undiminished, heading straight for Matthew’s head.
“Bang!”
The spear exploded right in front of him, the sheer force sending ripples through the life shield.
Matthew and Freeman’s faces turned pale as they stared in disbelief.
This kid’s attack could actually shake the life shield?!
Matthew gasped, shocked, “How is this possible? You’re just a Bronze Grade Demonic Rune Mage! How could your skills be this powerful?!”
The red runes on Luca’s magic spear began to glow once more.
At Matthew’s words, Luca’s lips curled into a playful smirk. “Who told you rank equals power?”
In the Eternal Continent, rank was never everything!
Class, gear, skills, talent, and experience—any of these could bridge the gap in strength that rank alone couldn’t.
Most people simply didn’t have the talent or the ability to make up that difference.
Unfortunately for Matthew and Freeman, Luca was one of the few who did.
And in every aspect, he belonged to the very top tier.
Killing enemies above his level was hardly a challenge for Luca.
Behind him, flames coiled like serpents as he pointed his spear at the two, speaking calmly, “Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance. Kneel now, admit your mistakes, break both your arms, and come back to Riverfall City with me. I might just spare your lives.”
Since Luca had promised Freeman to give them a chance, he fully intended to keep his word.
However, this offer only made Matthew and Freeman turn livid with rage.
“Kneel and beg for mercy?” Matthew laughed in disbelief.
He had lived his whole life surrounded by flattery and sycophants.
Now Luca was demanding he kneel and beg?
Grinding his teeth, he spat, “Arrogant fool! With your abilities, I doubt you could even break my shield, yet you expect us to kneel and beg? You’re delusional!”
Freeman added mockingly, “We may not be able to do anything to you, but just wait until the city guards arrive. Let’s see how cocky you are then!”
After all, the life shield could hold for a full half-hour.
That was plenty of time for other squads to notice something was wrong and come to their aid.
When they arrived, Luca wouldn’t stand a chance—his death would be certain!
“I’ve given you your chance, but if you don’t want to take it, that’s on you,” Luca said, unfazed, even smiling.
He had seen too many fools who couldn’t recognize their predicament until it was too late.
Until they were truly driven to despair, they would always live in their own delusions.
“In that case, you can die now!” A cold gleam flashed in Luca’s eyes, and his voice became as frigid as ice.
A surge of overwhelming killing intent radiated from him!
In that moment, both Matthew and Freeman shuddered, terror flashing in their eyes.
It was as if they could faintly see something.
What behind Luca—a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, with countless vengeful spirits clawing their way toward them!
Freeman was horrified.
How could this kid have such intense bloodlust? How many people had he killed before?!
At the same time, they saw a faint purple glow flicker across Luca’s body.
This time, it wasn’t an illusion!
Tiny arcs of lightning crackled around Luca, dancing in the air.
Above them, the sky seemed to be brewing with a terrifying force.
Realization dawned on Matthew and Freeman, their eyes widening in shock.
Matthew’s lips trembled. “This… this is!”
Fear filled Freeman’s eyes as he muttered in disbelief, “Heavenly Thunder Purple Fire… he really knows Heavenly Thunder Purple Fire?!”
Earlier, they had thought the Heavenly Thunder Purple Fire Luca used on the battlefield was just a scroll or item. But now they realized Luca could truly wield the high-level skill Heavenly Thunder Purple Fire!
“This guy…” Freeman opened his mouth, but no words came out.
It felt like a dream.
In all his years, Freeman had seen plenty of geniuses.
But this was the first time he’d encountered someone capable of learning high-level skills above their rank!
Freeman wasn’t the only one stunned—Matthew was equally dumbfounded.
He had been a Silver-grade mage for many years, yet he only knew a few mid-level spells.
And here was Luca, the one he had always looked down on, already mastering a high-level skill?
How could they possibly fight him now?!
Luca didn’t give them a chance to beg for mercy.
With a mere thought.
The clouds in the sky seemed to freeze for a moment.
“Boom!”
Suddenly, a thunderous crack echoed through the air, and a bolt of lightning—like a massive silver serpent—descended from the heavens.
With the might of a force that could split the earth, it surged down toward the two of them, amidst the shocked stares of everyone present!
“Protect me, quick!” Matthew’s face twisted in fear. His first instinct wasn’t to grab his staff but to plead for Freeman’s help.
Even their life shields couldn’t withstand a skill of such overwhelming power!
Freeman was so enraged he almost cursed out loud.
This guy, a mid-tier fire mage, was asking him, a healer, for protection? What kind of combat ability did he expect from a healer?!
But Freeman didn’t even have time to complain.
In a flurry of panic, he fumbled out several defensive items, activating them all in quick succession.
By now, the lightning from the sky was already roaring down toward them!
“Boom!!”
The violent thunderbolt struck with a deafening crash, and the life shield shattered almost instantly.
The thunderous roar echoed throughout Beast Forest as soil and trees were blasted in all directions.
A fierce wind swept up, fanning the flames into the sky. In an instant, the raging purple fire engulfed both Freeman and Matthew.
Catherine and the others, who had just arrived, stood frozen, staring at the inferno before Luca, unable to process what had just happened.
Is it… over?
Had Luca already taken care of Matthew and Freeman in such a short time?!
The group felt like they were in a dream.
Suddenly, Kaman, with his sharp eyes, pointed at a spot in the flames, shouting angrily, “They’re not dead yet!”
Everyone’s gaze followed his direction.
Through the fire, several layers of shattered shields could be seen in front of Freeman and Matthew.
The overlapping shields had managed to block the brunt of the thunder and flames, keeping them from reaching the two men.
Aside from their clothes being singed and looking a bit worse for wear, they appeared relatively unharmed.
Staring at the cracked shields in front of them, Matthew and Freeman collapsed onto the ground.
Their faces had gone deathly pale, and their legs were trembling. If not for holding onto each other, they would have likely collapsed entirely.
If Freeman hadn’t managed to activate several low- and mid-tier shields in the nick of time, they probably wouldn’t have even had ashes left!
A chilling fear took hold of both Matthew and Freeman.
Was this guy really a low-tier mage?
That level of damage was terrifying!
“You survived?” Luca muttered in surprise. These two really had a lot of defensive items on them.
But to him, this only meant he’d have to put in a bit more effort.
A silver magic rune lit up beneath Luca’s feet, and in the next instant, his figure vanished from sight.
Air Step!
Matthew and Freeman barely had time to register a dark blur.
Then Luca appeared in front of them. He moving so fast that they couldn’t even react.
Luca’s magic spear rose, the red runes flaring to life, his movements seamless and fluid.
Without hesitation, he thrust the spear forward, aiming straight for Matthew’s head!
He intended to finish this with a single, fatal strike!
Matthew felt an overwhelming shadow of death engulf him.
Fear surged within him like a tidal wave, almost drowning his reason entirely.
In that moment, Matthew acted on pure instinct.
He grabbed the still-stunned Freeman and shoved him in front of himself as a shield.
“You!” Freeman’s eyes widened in shock. He never expected Matthew to pull such a stunt.
Before he could even react, Luca’s spear was already upon him.
Seeing the spearhead mere inches from his face, Freeman mentally cursed Matthew and his entire family in that instant.
He never imagined he’d meet his end at the hands of this fool!
“Thwack!”
Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Luca’s spear pierced straight through Freeman’s skull.
The fire power imbued in the magic runes caused Freeman’s head to explode like a watermelon.
Blood and other unidentifiable matter splattered across Matthew’s face.
But Matthew had no time to wipe it off. In a panic, he scrambled away from Luca and frantically pulled a silver talisman from his Storage Ring, ready to activate it with a desperate grip.
It was a Spatial Teleportation Talisman! Once used, it could teleport the user to any location within a thousand meters.
“Luca Witch Doctor! Don’t let him use the teleport talisman!” Catherine shouted urgently.
Beast Forest was vast—if Matthew managed to teleport, finding him again would be nearly impossible.
A cold gleam flickered in Luca’s eyes. He had no intention of letting Matthew escape.
The silver magic runes at his feet pulsed as he vanished once more, reappearing instantly beside Matthew. His spear shot forward like lightning!
Blood sprayed through the air in a heartbeat!
“Ahhhhh!!” Matthew’s agonized screams echoed throughout Beast Forest.
Luca’s spear had pierced directly through Matthew’s hand, causing him to drop the Spatial Teleportation Talisman.
“My talisman! My teleport talisman!” Matthew cried in a frenzy, desperately trying to retrieve it. But just as his hand reached out, Luca kicked him viciously, sending him flying several meters.
Matthew’s body crashed hard into a tree, the force making him feel like his internal organs had shifted out of place.
“Ugh!”
He coughed up a mouthful of blood, nearly fainting from the pain.
Catherine hesitated before speaking, “Luca Witch Doctor, don’t kill him. Let me take him back to the city lord and Lady Sophia. They’ll make sure everyone gets justice.”
Luca’s expression remained indifferent as he continued walking forward, completely ignoring her words.
Some people sealed their fate the moment they committed certain actions.
As Luca approached, spear in hand, Matthew’s eyes filled with terror.
Holding his stomach, pale-faced, he weakly pleaded, “I know I was wrong… please… spare me this time… whatever you want… I can give it to you…”
Luca paused, raising his spear as he looked down at Matthew.
His voice was calm as he said, “You don’t realize you were wrong—you just know you’re about to die.”
With those words, Luca’s spear plunged forward.
A flash of silver light cut through the air!
Matthew’s neck was pierced cleanly by Luca’s spear!
Blood gushed from Matthew’s mouth, and the fear and regret in his eyes overflowed as he realized his fate.
He had never imagined, even in his worst nightmares, that he would die at the hands of someone he had once considered a nobody.