The night wind swirled fiercely in the narrow streets of Millhaven, The sound of the citizens' screams mixed with the clang of metal and the shouts of soldiers, The fire of the torches trembled under the vortex that emerged from the palm of the masked young man's hand.
Dex stood calmly, his eyes sweeping over the royal soldiers who surrounded Anna and Liana, Their shadows stretched long across the stone walls cracked by the tremors.
"Now" Dex's voice was flat, but it echoed like a warning. "Who wants to die first?"
The soldiers hesitated, Some had already heard the rumor about a foreign youth who destroyed dozens of pursuers with only wind magic, But they were royal soldiers, they couldn't run just because of gossip.
A mage in a blue robe stepped forward, his silver staff glimmering, A symbol of magic formation circled in the air, reflecting a red light. "Elemental Ignis Rain of Flame!"
The sky above them immediately turned red, Dozens of fireballs appeared, falling heavily like a rain of small meteors.
Dex snorted. "Too noisy"
A vortex of wind enveloped his body. With a brief movement of his hand, he released a vertical gust.
WHOOM!
The wind twisted the rain of fire, scattering it toward the surrounding building walls, some extinguished, others exploded uncontrollably.
The wooden buildings caught fire, citizens screamed from afar.
Anna covered her mouth, her body trembling. "This is, getting worse."
Liana had already drawn her short sword, standing in front of Anna. "Focus, They're not just after us, but him too"
Before Dex could move again, suddenly the ground beneath him trembled.
An Earth Knight stomped his sword onto the road, making stones rise into sharp pillars.
"Try dodging this!"
The sharp rocks burst forth, but Dex simply stepped lightly, The wind lifted him several meters into the air, With a faint smile behind his mask, he spun above the enemies, then lowered his hand.
"Fall"
Pressurized wind struck the ground, shattering the stone pillars and hurling the Earth Knight into the wall, his helmet shattered into pieces.
But not every attack was that simple.
From the right side, the space suddenly slowed down, The sound of a heartbeat echoed loudly, A Chrono Mage stared at Dex, his eyes glowing silver. "Chrono Field Stasis"
The air around Dex slowed, his wind vortex grew heavy, his body movement drastically reduced.
'Damn, he's manipulating time' Dex thought, his jaw tightening.
Arrows coated with gravity aura shot out, fired from behind by royal archers, The slowed time made Dex unable to dodge in time.
"Now!" shouted the Chrono Mage.
But before the arrows could pierce his body, CLANG! a blade deflected them.
Liana appeared beside Dex, her face cold. "You're not the only one who can fight"
The Chrono Mage was shocked, but before he could react, Dex unleashed his full pressure.
"I hate being slowed"
A wind aura exploded from his body, strong enough to tear through the chrono formation.
Time returned to normal, and Dex vanished from sight in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, the Chrono Mage was hurled against the wall, his chest crushed by a storm-coated kick.
His ribs shattered, his voice choked before losing consciousness.
Anna stared at Dex with a look mixed with fear and awe. "He's that strong?"
For Liana, what was even more terrifying was how relaxed the young man was.
---
On the other side of the city, at the eastern gate, the royal army kept entering.
The torchlight gleamed across Commander Gareth's face. The man in black armor stopped for a moment, staring at the black smoke rising from the city center.
An officer approached. "Commander, it seems resistance has already begun, The front team reports a mysterious wind mage interfering"
Gareth narrowed his eyes. "Wind mage? So the rumor was true"
He raised his hand. "Summon the Shadow Guards"
From the darkness, six figures emerged, Their bodies cloaked in black robes with the golden dragon emblem on their chests.
Their eyes glowed faint red, royal assassins who used shadow arts and blood curses.
"Find that young man" Gareth ordered coldly. "If he's protecting the princess, kill him, If not, cripple him"
They nodded, then disappeared into the shadows, as if merging with the night.
**
In a narrow alley, Dex had just taken down two more soldiers with a horizontal gust that shattered the wall, His breathing was still steady, but his expression bored.
"So noisy, I'm just hungry"
Anna looked at him, wondering in her heart, Was this man really only concerned about food?
But before she could think further, black shadows appeared from the ground around them.
Six cloaked figures ambushed, their movements soundless.
Liana immediately stepped forward, slashing one of the shadows, But her blade only passed through thick smoke.
"ck illusion" she muttered cautiously.
One assassin appeared right behind Dex, his knife shooting toward the neck.
But without turning, Dex tilted his head, letting the blade pass, then kicked back.
The assassin's body was flung away but instantly vanished into smoke.
"Interesting" Dex's voice was low. "Different from the soldiers earlier"
Suddenly, two shadows lunged at Anna, Liana tried to block, but another shadow held her sword with a cursed dagger.
Anna screamed, her body being pulled into darkness.
"Anna!"
Dex clicked his tongue in irritation. "What a nuisance"
He raised his hand, The wind swirled forming a thin blade, At a glance, it looked like a transparent sword, but its edge hissed, With one swing, the shadows around Anna were cleaved, bursting into black mist.
Anna stumbled, almost falling, but Dex caught her arm. "You really have a hobby of being chased, huh?"
Anna's face turned red, but she didn't reply.
From the rooftop, an assassin appeared, his body larger, his black aura layered with blood, His eyes glowed like embers. "You're too dangerous, kid"
He pressed both hands to the ground, The surrounding shadows turned into black spears, hundreds of them, shooting toward Dex.
Dex sighed, then took a deep breath. "Wind, spin"
A vortex storm emerged from his feet, rapidly growing, swallowing the shadow spears, shattering them into black dust.
But the assassin was already right in front of him, moving as fast as lightning.
Both cursed daggers slashed toward Dex's chest, For the first time, Dex's eyes widened slightly. 'Fast'
Clang! Liana's sword blocked one of them, but the other attack still went through.
Only, before the dagger reached his body, the wind swirled around Dex, forming a thin layer like a glass shield.
The dagger cracked, shattered by air pressure.
Dex looked straight into the assassin's eyes. "What a shame"
With a push of his palm, he exploded a small storm right in the enemy's face, The assassin was thrown, his helmet shattered, blood splattering.
The remaining shadows disappeared.
Anna was stunned. "He, can face them all alone"
But Dex only turned toward Van, who suddenly appeared at the end of the alley, panting. "Dex! The commander himself is in the city, We have to escape!"
Dex raised an eyebrow. "Commander?"
Van nodded quickly. "Gareth, the prince's right hand! That man can defeat dozens of mages alone!"
Dex let out a long sigh, then sat on the edge of the ruins. "Seriously, can I eat first, before fighting these commanders?"
Van nearly collapsed from frustration. "Are you serious?! This city's about to become a battlefield, and you're still joking?"
Dex turned toward Anna, who was still trembling. "You, Princess or whatever, You must be the main target, If you die, can I finally eat in peace?"
Anna stared at him, unsure whether he was joking or truly serious.
But before an answer came, a heavy voice echoed from down the street.
"No need to wait until tomorrow"
Heavy footsteps approached, and from the smoke of blazing fires appeared a tall figure clad in black armor, His sharp eyes stared directly at Dex.
Commander Gareth.
The air around him trembled with dense mana aura.
"So you're the wind mage causing all this chaos" he said flatly. "I, Gareth, have come to behead you tonight"
Dex stood, tightening his coat. A faint smile appeared beneath his mask.
"Finally" he said softly. "Someone who looks like they could cure my boredom."