Shang only looked with shock and horror at the powerful Governor of the Grandmountain Kingdom.
'Jerald was right.'
'I've lost control over my own rage more than once. Why did I think that other people have perfect control over their emotions just because they are more powerful?'
'They are also just human!'
'After making sure that there was not the slightest risk of revealing my power so many times, I did the very thing I was trying to avoid.'
'I took an unnecessary risk.'
'Shang, you're such a fucking idiot!'
'Not everything has to be logical!'
'Humans don't always act according to logic! You should know that!'
"Not necessary?" Shang remembered Jerald say. "You're probably right. The chances of some powerful High Mage losing control over their emotions are rather small."
For a second, the Governor looked at the outpost with pure hatred.
Meanwhile, Shang felt like he had just looked death in the eyes.
Suddenly, the Governor's gaze shot to the sky.
"But I don't like taking chances."
Shang also looked up, and he could see someone with long green hair and green robes hovering in the air.
"I'm still coming with you, Shang. Just to be safe."
The Governor felt an incredible threat coming from this figure, and when he saw the Focus with four Amplifiers, all his rage vanished.
His eyes immediately widened in shock and terror.
"And, hey, if it turns out that I'm incorrect, you can laugh at me for being too paranoid."
Shang released a deep breath.
'Luckily, there was someone smarter than me around me.'
'This time, I've actually overestimated the enemy, which can be just as bad as underestimating them. I thought that they were smart enough not to do something so stupid, but I was wrong.'
'And I would have been forced to use Entropy again.'
Shang looked at Jerald, who was flying in the sky.
"I'm sorry for being so stupid and stubborn, Jerald. You were right," Shang transmitted.
Jerald only smirked.
And then, his Focus shone with green light.
SHING!
The Governor vanished as he used Mana Step to retreat.
BANG!
Yet, in the middle of his Mana Step, he suddenly hit something solid and was thrown back.
A violently shaking green wall of wind had appeared in front of him. It looked almost like a gigantic welding torch was spewing green fire.
The Mana Shield took a heavy hit, and the Governor's concentration was broken as his rapid, unprepared stop shook his organs and brain around.
Jerald lifted his right hand and pointed upward with his index and middle fingers. Some peaceful green wind appeared above them.
Then, he pointed at the Governor.
CRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
In an instant, a gigantic, rotating drill of wind appeared above the Governor's Mana Shield.
The sheer force of the green drill echoed for kilometers, blowing the eardrums out of any General Stage or weaker beings.
Sparks of pure Mana flew everywhere, illuminating the entire crevice.
And then, the Mana Shield and the drill vanished.
The Governor fell to his knees in a cold sweat.
All his Mana was gone.
He knew that Jerald had been more powerful than him from the beginning, but he hadn't thought that the distance between them was that great.
Then, the Governor's head shot up as he looked at Jerald again.
His Focus was shining with another prepared Spell!
"I surrender! I will follow-"
BANG!
A green streak of wind passed, and his head vanished.
Jerald only smirked. "Oops."
It was nothing unusual for a defeated High Mage to surrender and join another Kingdom, especially when they were someone of status.
A High Mage was very valuable, and even though they acted like they were loyal to their Kingdom, their loyalty wasn't actually as strong.
When faced with death, many High Mages would gladly abandon their Kingdom and join the enemy.
High Mages were rare, and every Kingdom needed them. They would always be accepted with open arms.
Of course, they would need to give reparations for their past actions, which meant a lot of work for them for a couple of decades.
But after that, they could fully join the Kingdom.
What were a couple of decades of work in exchange for survival and another shot at becoming more powerful?
Shang looked at the headless corpse and wasn't surprised in the least that Jerald had killed the Governor.
If this Governor joined the Skythunder Kingdom, the Council would get another powerful pawn to use against Jerald.
And, even more, this pawn would have a personal vendetta against Jerald.
After all, Jerald would be the reason that the Governor had to betray his Kingdom and work his ass off for several decades.
Jerald, obviously, wouldn't overlook something like that.
It was better to immediately kill the Governor.
The other people still couldn't believe that they had survived.
When they saw the infuriated Governor, they believed that they would die today.
Such a powerful High Mage could use their comprehended Concept to kill all of them within seconds.
They genuinely hadn't known that the Duke of the Storm Eagle Zone was here.
Some of them fell onto their butts in shock.
This day was just too much for them.
Jerald slowly landed beside Shang with a smile.
"I told you," he said.
Shang only looked to the side in shame. "Yes, you did."
"Powerful Mages are also just people," Jerald said. "They feel anger, happiness, and sadness just like you and me. When you can lose control over your emotions, others can as well."
Shang only nodded without saying anything.
Shang wasn't perfect.
He couldn't predict everything.
Logically, it had made no sense for the Governor to appear here, but things didn't always go according to logic.
Sometimes, people did dumb things.
Even the powerful and old ones.
SHING!
The air around Jerald and Shang shook as someone new arrived.
This was the very reason why it had been stupid.
Every Kingdom was surrounded by a gigantic and powerful Magic Circle that reacted to powerful presences and communication signals.
This Magic Circle had been how the Mages of the Grandmountain Kingdom had found Shang after he had used his Communication Crystal to contact George.
And it also alerted the leaders of the Kingdoms about any High Mage that crossed their border.
So, when the Governor came here, the Council had immediately been informed.
A Mid High Mage was someone with the power of an average Duke, and they knew that Duke Quake was the weakest and newest Duke. They knew that he wouldn't be able to resist such an enemy.
Shang and Jerald looked over and saw an older woman with black hair and cold eyes.
It was the Head of the Council, a Peak High Mage.
Four of the five members of the Council usually lived in the northern half of the Kingdom since they had to react very quickly to any powerful High Mage that arrived, and the Head of the Council lived at the southern border of this Zone.
It had barely taken her a minute to arrive here.
In that minute, the Governor could have decimated the entire camp several times over and retreat, but their location would have already been revealed to the Head of the Council.
A Mid High Mage couldn't run for very long while being chased by a Peak High Mage.
This was why it had been a very stupid idea for the Governor to arrive.
"How nice of you to join us, Council Head," Jerald said with a polite smile.
As soon as she had felt the presence of Jerald, she had known that the enemy was most likely already dead.
She was enemies with him, but she also knew how powerful he was.
The Head of the Council looked at the headless body and the corpse of Duke Quake just a couple hundred meters away from it.
She wasn't surprised that the enemy was already dead.
Then, she looked at Jerald with an emotionless expression.
"What happened here?"
