The auction held by Cloud Eagle Trading House was situated on the edge of the square, specifically to facilitate the swift departure of guests.
Coming out of the auction house, Ivan left the Floating Clouds Square directly.
“Make haste and leave, there seem to be flies trailing us.”
“Got it!”
In response to his command, the Silkworm Queen always followed orders to the letter, rapidly increasing in size and transforming into a grey owl with red markings, flapping its wings and lifting him skyward.
As the grey owl continued its flight, it kept growing larger, quickly surpassing ten meters in length.
“Why should we be afraid of flies?”
“I’m talking about those who are as pesky as flies.”
“Are they jealous of what we’ve purchased?”
“It seems not—these people are truly relentless.”
Once they were off the ground, Ivan observed the situation below with composure, thinking to himself how close it had been.
He noticed people were following him from behind and others were waiting ahead, but thankfully the Silkworm Queen reacted so swiftly that his pursuers had no time to respond before it had already taken him off the ground.
With his exceptional hearing, he could still catch the curses of those on the ground even at a distance, realizing they were those sent to assassinate him for a bounty.
“Damn it, this slippery little thief is too fast.”
“Chase him! That’s a set of six mental power potions, worth hundreds of thousands of magic stones at the auction—we can’t let him get away.”
On the ground, four sorcerers cursed their miscalculation. They had arranged for two sorcerers to block the way outside the square, but to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and offending the Floating Clouds Square, they dared not position themselves too close to it.
Unexpectedly, just a short distance allowed their target to slip into the sky.
Of course, the four weren’t going to give up that easily. It took them two or three seconds to summon their flying beasts, chasing after Ivan directly.
This abrupt action immediately drew the attention of people who had just left the square, thinking it was a dispute over an auctioned item.
“Ivan Marichardon, prepare to die—no matter where you run, we will find you. You can’t escape!” Seeing the other party escape more and more quickly, and being unable to keep up, Sidney, one of the sorcerers, couldn’t help but shout.
“Sidney, you—”
“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed he’s seen us. There’s no way we come back empty-handed every time.”
Since all four had donned masks, seeing him reveal his identity while sounding so righteous made the others’ expressions darken behind their masks.
“You cowards from Mongna Ant Land Cottage, do you dare to turn back and fight your grandfather Sidney? Your grandfather, I—”
As the rest pursued in silence, Sidney continued to taunt, non-stop, attempting to provoke the enemy.
Not far ahead, the man and magic pet naturally heard the ongoing clamor from behind.
“Sorcerer Ivan, when it comes to flying speed, we surely have the upper hand. Shall we turn back and teach these flies a lesson?” The Silkworm Queen couldn’t stand anyone insulting its sorcerer and was ready to turn around the moment Ivan gave the command.
“I didn’t want extraneous complications, but this fellow’s foul mouth knows no bounds; indeed, it’s only right to give him a lesson.”
Ivan had been keeping an eye on his pursuers. The four could fly thanks to three magic-summoned puppets, creatures similar to the blood-colored pigeon, and one magic pet that wasn’t particularly fast.
It’s easier to dodge the overt than the covert. Without establishing some authority, countless others might come after him in the future.
After pondering, Ivan made up his mind.
“Silkworm Queen, turn back. Show these clueless creatures a bit of color, lest they hassle us again and again.”
“Which tactic are we using?”
“Number two, toy with them for a bit first.”
“Tactic number two? Understood, just watch.”
Since he himself lacked the ability to fly, and the Silkworm Queen possessed significant combat capabilities, Ivan had devised five tactics for it, whether for attack or escape or elusive fighting; tactic number two was the elusive fighting strategy.
The Silkworm Queen had been waiting for those words. It instantly reversed direction and, following the sorcerer’s instructions, flew towards the people chasing them.
The pursuers noted this maneuver, their expressions brightening.
“Kid, this is your own doing.”
Sidney’s face showed a smile at this moment.
This scene also fell into the eyes of those on the ground. Many stopped to watch the imminent struggle in the sky. They had heard Sidney’s voice earlier and knew the four were hunting for a bounty. Thinking of those six mental power potions, they secretly lamented the lost opportunity.
As the struggle erupted, thunderous sounds filled the sky, and the spectators saw clearly: those mental power potions didn’t seem easy to obtain.
‘Turbid Wind’
‘Green Scythe’
Ivan and the Silkworm Queen, from a position of advantage in the sky, launched a probing attack.
The four sorcerers below easily suppressed the spell cast by the man and magic pet.
Before the sorcerers’ spells could come close, the Silkworm Queen was already sweeping across from higher in the air, its speed and agility leaving the flying beasts of the four sorcerers trailing far behind.
The Silkworm Queen was a proper Level 2 creature, a standout among Level 2 creatures, and it could also harness the power of its species, like the Wind Moth’s wind-riding ability, allowing it to burst forth with impressive speed.
It was also an intelligent creature, capable of executing Ivan’s commands perfectly.
Observing that the four flying beasts were far slower than the Silkworm Queen, Ivan began to feel assured engaging in an evasive battle with the four adversaries.
“Boom, boom, boom.”
After three exchanges, the faces of the four pursuers had darkened; using speed and agility, their opponent stayed above, raining down attacks from the high ground.
Unreachable, uncatchable.
The opponent was clearly toying with them.
“This bastard is pushing it too far!”
The four exchanged glances, feeling that this couldn’t continue, and they had to take different measures.
“Dammit, you’re dead meat!” Sidney’s eyes bulged roundly, and the next second, the energy particles within the magic puppet he was riding surged tumultuously.
Two of them cast Wind-type magic, the gusting winds swirling around and lending strength to the four flying beasts.
In the blink of an eye, the speed of the four flying beasts increased to varying degrees.
“Talk about catching up with me when you can.” Leveraging the flying ability of the Silkworm Queen, Ivan remained higher than the four, his superior posture making them even more resentful below.
“Go!”
“Kill him.”
The four flying beasts, now much faster, fiercely pounced toward Ivan and the Silkworm Queen.
Ivan, fully understanding the essence of hit-and-run tactics, instructed the Silkworm Queen to change direction, maintaining a not-too-close-yet-not-too-far distance, circling the four. He even cast spells like Turbid Wind, mental suppression and toxins intermittently to hinder the flying beasts.
This unusual aerial chase unfolded in the sky, providing a spectacle for the onlookers on the ground. It also drew more people out from the square.
“What creature is that? It has such incredible speed.”
“Those are Sorcerers Sidney and Steve, aren’t they? They have quite the foul tempers on regular days, and now someone’s really made a fool of them.”
“Sorcerer Marichadon from Mongna Ant Land Cottage, the one with the bounty, the records show he’s an Insect Control Master. Didn’t expect he had nurtured such powerful Guardian Beasts. Once a man like him leaves the ground, who could easily catch up? Most likely they’d just be mocked.”
The onlookers on the ground discussed animatedly, and from the fight they had just witnessed, it was not hard to see the difficulties presented by Sorcerer Marichadon, especially for those sorcerers without good magic puppets. Read chapters at empire
At this moment, if it weren’t for the fact that the auction at Cloud Eagle Trading House hadn’t ended yet, the number of sorcerers watching the scene on the ground would have been several times more.
“Bastard, if you’re brave enough, stop running!”
After a short pursuit, Sidney’s face had lost its earlier arrogance, replaced only by somewhat greenish eyes.
This bastard kept leading them in circles near the Floating Clouds Square, the mocking intent couldn’t have been more obvious, and yet the four of them just couldn’t catch up or land a hit, despite using various means to increase their speed.
“Spread out to intercept.”
“Alright!”
After being toyed with for a while, the four could not bother with the potential of being defeated individually anymore and changed their chase strategy, vowing to corner and kill their opponent near Floating Clouds Square.
It was just the opponent’s speed they were up against. If one could hold him for a few seconds and the others got close, this bastard who dared to mock them would be done for.
Once they made the decision, the four commanded their flying beasts to spread out, gradually increasing the distance between each other.
“There’s going to be a good show.”
On the ground, when the spectators saw the four change their careful approach in hopes of cornering their enemy, many shook their heads slightly, finding the move unwise.
However, the four indeed had no other good strategy unless they gave up the bounty.
“Sorcerer Ivan, they’ve spread out,” the Silkworm Queen also kept an eye on the movements of the pursuers, its expression turning excited at the sight. This was the perfect opportunity for divide and conquer.
“It’s about time, remember what I told you to keep in mind,” Ivan said.
“Not to be careless and neglectful, to always stay vigilant and calm.”
“Good that you remember, execute tactic number one.”
The Silkworm Queen was naturally lazy and buoyed only by the novelty of the fight, still essentially a novice in battle. Such creatures easily became hot-headed when engaged in combat, which made Ivan all the more cautious, frequently reminding it to prevent any mistakes.
Under Ivan’s instruction, the Silkworm Queen headed toward the man who had earlier spoken so brashly, who happened to be trying to flank Ivan from the side.
“You fool over there, get ready to embrace death.”
“Bring it on!”
Sidney, rather than alarmed, was delighted. A sorcerer who liked to study insects and Enchantments likely wouldn’t amount to much.
In just a few seconds, the distance between them closed, and it was the well-prepared Silkworm Queen that struck first, conjuring two exaggerated Green Scythes that flew toward Sidney from left and right.
Sidney’s pupils contracted, not expecting that besides speed, this odd bird also had some mastery in spell attacks, which hadn’t been fully revealed until now.
If it were anywhere else, Sidney could have easily dodged, but high up here, the magic summon puppet beneath him wasn’t so agile, so he had to intercept personally.
Dammit!
Sidney cursed, although his hands were quick, pulling out some magic-casting materials and materializing four ice blades that were every bit as fierce, two aimed at the incoming green scythes, and two flying forward.
This strike consumed a lot of Sidney’s strength.
‘Black Magic Hand’
At that moment, Ivan seized the opportunity to strike. A giant hand burning with black flames appeared, accurately slapping toward the opposing sorcerer, easily shattering the ice blades it passed and heading for Sidney.
Seeing the black flame hand approaching, Sidney’s expression turned extremely grave.
He had no time to cast another spell and produced a shield in his hand. The energy shield unfolded in an instant, protecting both him and the flying beast before him.
Not far away, seeing Sidney under attack, Steve and the others were hastening to his aid, not caring if their flying beasts became wobbly in their rush.