Chapter 344: The Most Direct Way
Everyone was almost devastated when they saw Frieren's calm, confident expression: "I may not be able to beat her, but I have a way."
They didn't believe it!
Even she herself admitted that she couldn't beat them, so what other options were there?
Based on love and courage?!
However, a mission was a mission, and Serie's orders were not to be questioned. The group had no choice but to bite the bullet and begin the final preparations for the operation.
Unbeknownst to them, at the very top of the Magic Association, a figure with pure white wings stood silently in the night sky, overlooking the myriad lights of the capital city.
Olivia would certainly not let Evan and his group of teenagers go on an adventure with Frieren alone.
She had originally prepared many powerful defensive and offensive magical items for Frieren, but since she was temporarily staying with the association, she took the opportunity to act as a secret protector herself.
This served both as a test for the disciples and as a way to ensure that nothing went wrong.
Of course, Olivia only told Frieren about this; Evan and the others knew nothing about it, completely unaware that a legendary Skywing Clan hero was acting as an invisible guardian above them.
As night deepened, the group began their operation.
The first step in the plan was to leave the Magic Association quietly.
Nowadays, the Magic Association was surrounded by spies, mingling with the ordinary people and those who came to visit out of curiosity, making them impossible to distinguish.
Fortunately, after the last mission, Ms. Serie gave them extensive training, and through various methods, they successfully avoided the significantly increased patrols on the streets and the hidden sentries in the corners.
However, as they approached the imposing high walls of the Earl's mansion, their hearts sank.
Outside the mansion, a thick magical barrier, like a giant bowl, enclosed the entire mansion upside down, its surface radiance far surpassing that of the one they had broken through last time.
"It's a legion-type barrier!" Sia whispered. "It's a level higher than the last one. I can't break it."
Everyone's faces instantly darkened; they hadn't expected the second step of their plan to be thwarted so quickly.
"These nobles are so rich! They can even set up this kind of barrier in their own mansions!" Doc muttered to himself.
Such barriers were generally only used in the military and required at least a dozen powerful mages to maintain them.
"It seems they really value their lives," Legolas sneered.
Just when everyone was at a loss, Frieren stepped forward and said, "Let me do it."
Although Evan and the others were suspicious, they thought that the other party was, after all, Flamme's disciple and might really be very good at barrier magic, so they made way for her.
She took out her wand and then pulled out a feather-like object from her pocket. It was a purple-blue hue, and the shaft was inlaid with tiny purple gemstones.
Everyone leaned forward instinctively.
"This is... a magical artifact?" Legolas's eyes narrowed; he could sense the lightning elemental power contained within it.
Frieren didn't explain. She held the tip of the feather in one hand and raised her wand with the other, pointing it at the barrier in front of her.
Then she began to cast a spell, and a magic circle unfolded around her. Invisible magic power gathered towards the magical artifact in her hand, and the gem on it suddenly lit up, emitting a "buzzing" sound of electricity.
Evan's pupils constricted. He recognized the nature of the magical fluctuation and exclaimed in a low voice, "Wait! This... is the opening move of the highest-level lightning elemental attack spell?!"
Legolas reacted instantly, his face turning deathly pale. "You're going to break the barrier forcefully?! This will alert everyone!"
Friren turned towards them. "Heh?"
Everyone tried to dissuade her, but it was too late; Frieren's magic had already been cast.
BOOM!
An incredibly thick, dazzling bolt of lightning appeared from the sky and struck the barrier viciously, unleashing the most extreme, unreasonable energy that forcibly shattered the barrier into fragments.
Bang!
A tremendous sound, like a thunderclap, exploded over the street, instantly shattering the surrounding tranquility.
Inside the Earl's mansion, countless lights were lit, and a flurry of footsteps rapidly approached their location.
Frieren slowly lowered her wand, and the chilling lightning and violent magical fluctuations began to subside. She turned her head slightly to look at her companions behind her, who seemed to have been petrified.
"The barrier has been broken. You can go ahead with the plan."
Evan and the others turned green as the barrier completely dissipated; the lights suddenly illuminated the distant mansion, and the clamor of shouts erupted.
This wasn't infiltration; it was clearly a blatant announcement to the enemy: "We're here! Come out and fight!"
But it was too late to say anything now. They could only bite the bullet and, taking advantage of the chaos that had just begun in the mansion, rush into the main house toward the Earl's bedroom as initially planned.
However, to their surprise, although a large number of guards poured out of the mansion courtyard, these guards were clearly also quite frightened by the earth-shattering way of breaking through the barrier, and appeared somewhat chaotic.
With Evan and his group displaying a desperate, all-or-nothing attitude, and Frieren intervening, they miraculously broke through layers of obstacles and made their way to the house's main gate.
With a roar from Doc, a magical attack blasted the gate into pieces.
The group filed in, but the moment they stepped into the main house, they sensed something was wrong.
It was so quiet! In stark contrast to the hustle and bustle outside, the main house was eerily silent, with empty corridors and not a single servant or guard in sight.
"Damn it! An ambush!" Evan reacted instantly, alarm bells ringing in his mind. "Retreat!"
The group hurriedly turned around to try to return the way they came, but just as they were about to retreat, a magical barrier appeared behind them at the location of the gate, blocking their escape route.
At the same time, complex magical runes lit up the ceiling above them, the floor beneath their feet, and even the walls around them.
The group froze.
A much larger, more complex confinement barrier, like a giant cage, instantly enveloped the entire main hall of the house.
Judging from the effect of the barrier, it was clearly designed to target magic users. Everyone felt the flow of magic power within their bodies slow down.
"Hehehe, as expected, they've arrived." A mocking voice came from the second-floor stairwell.
The target count slowly appeared, surrounded by a group of guards whose auras were significantly stronger.
His gaze swept over Evan and the others trapped in the barrier, and he visibly relaxed when he saw that Flamme had not appeared, but his eyes were still unfriendly.
To be honest, the Earl was also having a headache about how to deal with these brats from the Magic Association.
Kill them outright? He didn't dare.
Kurtz and Serie's power was real, and he didn't want to become the target of those two legendary beings, who would personally eliminate him.
Moreover, the organization was not prepared to sever ties with these two; yet if he did nothing, how could he save face?
Or, could they use them as hostages to force Lord Kurtz to hand over the magic of immortality? After all, these people were, after all, Lady Serie's apprentices.
However, he felt that given Lady Serie's personality, there was a greater chance she would come knocking on his door and kill him.
He sighed, made up his mind, and said, "Arrest them all first! Lock them in the dungeon."
Let's wait for someone from the Magic Association to come and negotiate. The count planned first to take control of the situation and see which way the wind was blowing.
Just as he gave the order and the elite guards were about to swarm in and capture Evan and his men, another unexpected event occurred!
A massive, pure beam of light descended from the sky without warning.
It didn't attack anyone; instead, it pierced through the powerful confinement barrier in an instant.
Click!
The barrier shattered instantly, turning into countless scattered points of light.
Everyone was stunned by the sudden attack, including the count and his guards. They looked up in horror and saw a figure with pure white wings on its back appearing and disappearing in the night sky, exuding a terrifying aura of majesty and holiness.
Olivia had made her move.
[End of Chapter]