Everything seemed to stop as the cold voice sounded.
As everyone moved their gazes toward the source of the voice, and saw three people hovering in the air above the mansion. One old lady, a cute young girl and a middle-aged in golden white robes.
A solemn look appeared in the masked man's eyes when he saw them, while Dean and Count Wiley stared, aghast.
Why?
Because the voice was directed at the trio. What did that mean?
It meant that them coveting the sword had angered the old lady—who apparently was at least a five-star mage or stronger since she could fly—because based on her words, the thunder sword was her family's heirloom sword.
Furthermore, all three of them recognized the middle-aged in golden white robes with a crown on his head, standing submissively behind her.
Wasn't this the current king of the Green leaf kingdom, an almighty six-star mage? Why was he standing there like an obedient servant?
The masked man, who initially felt anger when he heard her disrespect his royal family, felt his anger evaporate within a second and a confused and apprehensive look appeared in his eyes.
Seeing the masked man stare at them dumbly, the middle-aged man in golden white robes shouted sternly at him, "You fool! What are you doing standing there like an idiot? Hurry and greet the senior."
"This… Yes, my king…" The masked man was dumbfounded, but as a seasoned expert, he hurriedly regained his senses and bowed respectfully toward the old lady, "Greetings, senior. Please forgive me if I've offended you unknowingly."
The old lady, however, didn't spare him any glance and looked at Ashton, who was also looking at her with a frown on his face, instead.
It wasn't only Ashton but Esther, Amelia, Mina and even Butler George, who were looking at the old lady and the young girl in confusion.
They found them look similar to Hanna, Max's mother, and from how she called Hannah's sword her family's heirloom, it was clear they were from Hannah's family.
However… was Hannah from a powerful family?
They didn't know, but they had their doubts because she used to carry herself in a dignified manner and her strength was even stronger than Ashton at his peak. Would someone from an ordinary family have such traits?
Hannah, however, never told them about her background. Maybe only Ashton had some clues. Now it seemed she did indeed come from a powerful family which was at least stronger than the royal family since even the king was like a servant in front of this old lady.
Whoosh!
The old lady vanished from the sky and appeared in front of Ashton. She looked at his condition with a frown on her aged face before shaking her head. "Such a reckless kid."
"You… are from Hanna's family, right?" Ashton asked, looking at the woman.
"Yes. I am. We'll talk about everything later." She said as thunder started crackling around her hand. She then placed it on his shoulder and poured it all inside his body.
"AHHHHHH!"
Ashton's eyes widened, and he cried out in pain like a kid.
"Endure it and don't faint. Keep this energy under control." The old lady sternly said.
Seeing Ashton in pain, Esther and others wanted to stop her, but before they could say anything, the old lady glanced at them and said, "Don't worry. I'm saving his life. If I don't, the moment this energy leaves his body, he will die."
"Okay." The ladies nodding in understanding before shifting their gazes to Ashton and their heart pained upon seeing him suffer.
On the other side, the king flew down with Gene and landed beside the masked man, looking at the old lady with an incomprehensible look in his eyes.
Gene glanced at him and snorted, "If you want to keep your life, I advise you do not act recklessly."
Hearing this, the king felt chills run down his spine and the scene when he met the old lady appeared in his mind. She only released her aura and killing intent and he was immobilized completely.
Gulp!
He gulped audibly and hurriedly shook his head, "N-No. Young lady. I won't act recklessly. Please rest assured."
"Hmph!" Gene snorted before walking over to her grandma's side, leaving the king, whose face had turned dark, behind.
The masked man glanced at him, hesitated because he could see the king wasn't in the best mood, but still asked through telepathy, [My king, who is she and why did you bring her here? Didn't we agree to give the sword to those people from the central continent?]
[What am I supposed to do when an emperor ranked mage came knocking on my door? Refuse her and get killed?]
The king asked angrily as he glared at him.
The masked man stared at him blankly. The words 'emperor ranked mage' had stunned him. As he glanced at the old lady helping Ashton dispel the devil's energy, he felt his blood run cold.
Although she didn't have any particular expression on her face, the masked man knew Ashton was someone she cared about or she wouldn't have used her precious energy to save him.
Since this was the case, wouldn't she kill him, who forced Ashton to use this self-harming method?
The king, oblivious to the masked man's state of mind, continued to rage.
[Why do you have to be here and demand the sword just when we came here? Couldn't you have finished this matter earlier?]
[As the true owner of the sword, I'm sure she knows what we were trying to accomplish by trying to seize it and the chances are very high that things will become ugly for us. FUCK!!]
Dean also had a constipated expression on his face. Right now, he was cursing his luck for encountering an emperor ranked mage.
…
Ashton cried in pain for over half an hour non-stop because the pain was simply too unbearable. He felt as if his soul was being electrocuted with lightning strikes.
After half an hour, the pain grew weaker before eventually dying out completely.
Phew!
Gene's grandma let out a breath after she withdrew her thunder elemental mana.
"Thank… you." Ashton said weakly before falling unconscious. His body had shriveled up, his previously lustrous skin had become wrinkled and lose like a dying old man while his black hair had turned pure white.
Esther and others hurriedly came beside to support him. Their heart lurched when they saw his condition and then glanced at the old woman, who smiled lightly. "He will live."
"Thank you, senior for saving his life." All three ladies bowed 90 degrees to express their gratitude.
The old woman shook her head. "Unfortunately, I was too late. He has already burned at least 70% of his vitality and blood, while his mana core has turned into dust and his mana pathways are also severely damaged."
Color drained from the three ladies' faces when they heard it. They understood what this meant. And as they had feared, the old woman continued with a sigh,
"Without some miracle medicine, he won't be able to live for too long. I believe he has at most a month to live."
Amelia, who was the most emotional of the three, hugged the unconscious Ashton tighter, and asked while fighting hard to contain her tears, "Where can we get this miracle medicine?"
The old lady sighed and shook her head, "Let alone you guys, even I can't get my hands on that kind of medicine. Apart from those elusive supreme mages, only monarchs are qualified enough to get it. So, my advice is to take care of him and spend the rest of your time with him so you won't have many regrets later on."
Amelia shuddered when she heard this before immediately shaking her head, "NO! Please tell me what medicine can heal him. Maybe we can find it."
"It's useless to know, really." The old lady sighed and then said, "There are only four things that I know of which can heal him."
"First is the Elves' life spring. Second is the seven seas luminous pearl. Third is a rankles healing medicine which is comparable to grade 9 medicine and the last one is a supreme mage who has wood or vitality element."
"Last one is impossible even for those super families and sects because even if there is a supreme mage who has wood or vitality element, he or she won't help anyone who is unrelated to them. As for the rest, as I said, you need to be at least a monarch ranked mage to get them."
Esther and mina went silent. As for Amelia, she couldn't hold back her tears anymore and started weeping silently.
A moment later, Mina glanced at the masked man and the group with burning killing intent in her eyes and said to the old lady,
"Senior, I'm sure you are related to sister Hannah. Based on that, I ask you to kill these scums. Not only they are responsible for his current condition, they are also the ones who caused Hannah's death."
Sii!
The masked man and others shuddered violently, and their hair stood on ends when they heard her.
