Free Web NovelThe day after Leixier left, Louis set off impatiently.
He didn't tell anyone the reason, only taking Lambert, Sif, and two of his most trusted Elite Knights.
They passed through the woodlands on the edge of the Red Tide Territory and arrived at a deserted, empty clearing.
The sky was clear, a cold wind rustled the withered grass, and it was so quiet that only the distant flapping of crows' wings could be heard.
Louis was silent the whole way, his expression calm, but his steps were much faster than usual.
Only Sif, who knew him well, noticed the faint, unconcealed excitement in his eyes.
Like a child who had finally waited for his birthday, eager to unwrap a gift that had been sealed away for too long.
"This is it," he said softly, stopping in front of a bare rock formation.
Then he raised his hand, flicking his sleeve.
"Fireball!"
There was no long incantation, nor any complex gestures.
The air seemed to be violently stirred by some invisible force, and the fluctuations of magic surged out of him like waves.
Everyone felt a tightening in their chests, and even their breathing became shallow.
The next moment, a ball of flame ignited in his palm.
It wasn't ordinary fire, but highly condensed heat: a crimson swirling flame compressed to its limit.
The Fireball rotated violently, as if it could break free from his hand at any moment.
"Step back a little," Louis said calmly.
Then he raised his hand and threw it.
Boom!!!
The Fireball crashed down like a meteor, striking an old tree about ten meters away with a terrifying roar. A scorching wave of fire exploded, the tree trunk instantly charred and cracked, and thick branches groaned as they snapped in the dense smoke, falling to pieces.
""—Is that—magic?" Lambert was stunned.
"And, the power is just too—" Knight Thomas's mouth was half-open, looking as if he had witnessed a miracle.
But that wasn't all.
Louis didn't look back at the others, but slowly walked forward.
"Fire Blade!"
As he stepped, a scorching flame extended from his arm, solidifying into a fire blade nearly a meter long.
The blade was crimson, heat waves surged, and even the air seemed to emit a faint "sizzling" sound.
He raised the blade and swung.
The flame cut through the air, striking the wooden targets that had been set up.
Three thick wooden shields were diagonally split in a few seconds, the cuts charred, the wood carbonized, and the cross-sections were as neat as if polished by a bladesmith.
"One more. Burning Arrow · Beam Spell!"
He opened his left hand, and three Burning Arrows instantly condensed at his fingertips, combined with the Beam Spell rapidly unfolded from his right palm, the magic linkage was almost seamless.
A brilliant white beam of light shot out like a laser, engulfing the Burning Arrows.
"Whoosh—!!!"
"!" "Bang!" "Boom!"
Several rock targets exploded one after another, sending stones flying. The wooden target in the distance was directly burned to charcoal, its fragments twisting and curling in the heat, shattering upon impact.
The air warped, the grass was charred, and the wind stopped, as if time had paused for this scene.
After a series of magic releases, Louis finally slowly lowered his hand.
A trace of lingering flame remained on his fingertips, like the last breath of heat exhaled by a sleeping beast.
Louis was very satisfied with the effect he saw; this was the result of him independently researching Burning Arrow and Beam Spell.
The residual heat of the flames had not yet dissipated, and the smell of scorching still permeated the air.
But even more scorching than this heatwave was the shocking glint in their eyes, which almost seemed to spark fire.
"You can use magic?!" Thomas couldn't help but exclaim, as if he had discovered some earth-shattering secret, covering his head in disbelief.
Green's face was pale, and he murmured, "But hasn't magic long been extinct? Isn't that something only found in books?!"
"Calm down," Lambert said, his voice still steady and low, but his fingertips gently gripped his cuff, concealing a subtle, almost imperceptible tremor.
He knew of the existence of mages; he had been fortunate enough to see one when he was with his family, and the old zombie who attacked Louis last time also seemed to be a mage.
But when did Lord Louis master magic! And with such power!
Louis had grown up under his nose, but he had never studied magic, and he was starting to doubt reality.
He looked at the old tree that had been directly blown apart, then at Louis's palm, a truly uncertain look appearing in his eyes.
Sif stood by, saying nothing.
She didn't exclaim loudly like the others; she just quietly watched the unmoving figure in the firelight, that face, which had been so calm as to be almost emotionless on countless nights, now held a hint of long-lost gratification?
Yes, she understood.
In everyone's eyes, Louis was always the flawless noble lord, the calmly strategic tactical genius, temperate, rational, powerful.
But this time was different.
His steps carried an irrepressible lightness, his eyes held a hidden gleam, the joy of freedom.
"So you've been broken for a long time, huh," Sif whispered to herself, a barely perceptible smile on her lips.
She was happy for him from the bottom of her heart.
Louis turned around, looking at the few still-stunned people, and nodded with satisfaction.
He had always studied magic alone with Leixier, so no one else knew.
Showing off, it felt great!
He said calmly, "This matter cannot be spread."
"Understood!" Thomas and Green bowed almost simultaneously, their expressions like believers who had just witnessed a divine revelation.
""—I know," Sif said softly, her gaze still fixed on him.
Lambert also nodded, his eyes complex: "Yes. You have your reasons, and I will not ask further."
Louis smiled slightly, turning to look at the scorched clearing. freёwebnovel.com
No one knew that what he had just displayed was only thirty percent of his magic power.
His true trump card, he was still hiding it.
Louis withdrew the flames from his hand, his gaze calmly sweeping over the few people, then stopping on Green.
"Green," his tone was calm, yet carried a hint of undeniable command, "You come up and try."
Green paused, then immediately straightened his body and stepped forward.
He was a high-ranking Elite Knight from the family's regular army, having experienced several battles, slaying hundreds of enemies, and was one of the Red Tide Territory's most trusted generals.
But facing the lord before him, he had never felt such an inexplicable sense of pressure as he did now.
Louis was a low-ranking Elite Knight, only two ranks below him.
But in the high-rank system, that one rank often represented a chasm of life and death.
It should have been a duel without suspense.
However, the series of incredible magic just now completely disrupted Green's judgment.
He slowly drew his knight's sword, bowed, his gaze steady with a hint of caution: "Your subordinate would not dare to underestimate—I will give my all, please be merciful, my Lord." frёewebηovel.cѳm
Louis nodded.
