The mage got furious. "Shut up commoner! How dare you speak to me like that?"
Leo smiled. "Do you want to know how I did that? Well, the answer is... I am secretly a mage."
The viscount frowned at the answer. He thought that it was an obvious lie considering how he could see the aura in the boy's body. However, his expression changed instantly when he saw a fireball forming at his hand.
As a mage, he could see that the fireball was forming because of magic and could see that the spell was at least a 2nd Circle Spell. Normally, it wouldn't be a problem for him to handle a spell like that. But now that he didn't have any magic left, he would die even to a spell that weak.
"What is this?" He asked. "How are you able to do that? Having magic and aura at the same time is... impossible."
Leo launched the Flame Burst at the mage without any mercy. He wasn't planning on letting a person who was ready to kill him live. He knew that the noble was going to kill him anyway, so he should expect that the same could be done to him.
The Flame Burst exploded in the face of the mage who was too weak to dodge or block it. The explosion was so powerful that it blew off his head. Leo gagged at the sight of the headless body but he couldn't waste too much time.
He walked forward and took the dimensional ring of the mage. He then looked at the body of the Purple-Eyed Golden Lion and decided not to waste it. He stored the entire body in the dimensional ring because it was very valuable. A 4th Circle Magical Beast was very rare. He saw a core of a 4th Circle Magical Beast go for 7 million Starcoins. That was twice his net worth.
After taking away the body and the dimensional ring, he decided to leave the body of the mage there. One of the greatest advantages he had was that everyone who saw him initially detected the aura he had, so even if they saw him come out of the forest, they would only see that he was a 1st Circle Aura Knight.
He started walking to the Outer Forest. He was a little careful so that he wouldn't lose his way. Since he was very deep in the forest, he would get lost if he wasn't careful.
Meanwhile, the battle at Solhaven became very heated up after the lion entered the battlefield. The mages all backed away while the Magical Beasts became filled with vigor and attacked without any concern for their lives.
The magistrate watched this happen and frowned. He held his staff tightly and jumped from the edge of the wall. He flew into the air and pointed his staff at the incoming Magical Beasts.
"Frost Nova Surge!"
He released a concentrated wave of freezing cold that rapidly expanded outward, enveloping the area in a shimmering dome of ice and frost. As the spell took effect, a surge of chilling air radiated from the caster, forming intricate ice crystals that danced through the atmosphere. In an instant, the crystals shattered, releasing a cascade of icy shards that shot outwards with tremendous speed and force.
Upon impact, the shards embedded themselves into the Magical Beasts, freezing their bodies and encasing anything in their path in a layer of frost. The sudden drop in temperature causes an immediate shock to the Magical Beasts, slowing down their movements.
The lion roared after it watched this and said, "Do you think you are the only one who can attack my army?"
It channeled bolts of crackling electricity that streaked through the air with unparalleled speed and precision. As the power of the bolts increased, the atmosphere crackled with electrifying energy. With a commanding gesture, the lion unleashed multiple lightning bolts in rapid succession.
These bolts of pure electrical force arced and weaved through the air, guided by the lion. Each bolt sought out a 3rd Circle Mage with uncanny accuracy, delivering devastating strikes that electrified the surroundings. The impact was explosive, accompanied by thunderous cracks that reverberate through the area.
The 3rd Circle Mages were all sent flying to the wall. The attack injured all of them greatly. The initially injured Silvershade Mage was so heavily injured that he couldn't even fly anymore. He was coughing blood so much that it was clear that he could no longer participate in the fight.
The other 3rd Circle Mages were only lightly injured, so they could keep fighting. However, now they were at a huge disadvantage. The one attack from the Purple-Eyed Golden Lion tipped the scales greatly.
The magistrate was looking at the lion carefully. He knew that no matter how much the entire army fought and how hard they tried, they would not be able to impact the battle until the 4th Circle Magical Beast in front of him was dealt with.
This was the power of a 4th Circle Powerhouse. Anyone weaker than them would be like ants and they could affect any battle greatly. If he was able to take care of the lion, then the Beast Wave was essentially taken care of.
However, it wasn't as simple as it seemed. He knew that the Purple-Eyed Golden Lion was not the only 4th Circle Magical Beast in Valkyr's Forest. Based on the reports he received, the lion was able to find a Radiant Apple. The consort of the lion was back in the forest, guarding the apple.
This was a problem for two reasons. If he spent all his energy fighting the lion, he could quickly finish the fight and even take care of the rest of the Magical Beasts. However, if the lioness suddenly interfered, then he would not be able to handle two Magical Beasts at the same time.
Also, if the lioness took the Radiant Apple by any chance, then any chances of victory were as good as gone. The Radiant Apple was a fruit that guaranteed an increase in power for any Magical Beast or mage. It helped them greatly increase the magic they had.
Right now, the lion was an Early-Stage 4th Circle Magical Beast. If the lion took the Radiant Apple, it would become a Middle-Stage 4th Circle Magical Beast at the very least. He himself was a Middle-Stage 4th Circle Mage. He wouldn't be able to guarantee victory if that breakthrough had already happened, but it seemed that the lion had saved the fruit for later.
After thinking for a while, he decided that he had to fight with his all to quickly kill the Magical Beast before the lioness could join the fight. Just as he was thinking that he sensed a very slight disturbance from the distance in the forest.
There were signs of Magical Energy in the distance. It was almost 50 kilometers away, so that meant it was in the Core Forest. He looked at the lion who was also looking at the source of the disturbance. No one else noticed this disturbance, but both of them did. Both of them knew what the disturbance meant.
