Tristan and Sandra finally crossed the border.
When Noel saw that, he couldn't help but smile, realizing that this was going to end soon. He shouted, "Dimitri!"
Dimitri understood what that shout was for and took a glimpse of Tristan and Sandra's positions. "Got it."
"What got it? You won't be able to do anything before you reach the border city!" Nelfer shouted in anger while punching Dimitri.
Once again, Dimitri turned into a shadow and moved toward Tristan and Sandra. Noel also did the same with the Spirit Grandmasters following him.
"Tsk." Qiel gritted her teeth but hadn't lost her will yet. She was the one telling Nelfer that Noel wouldn't be safe until he reached the border city where he could get some help. "Chase him. Don't let him go even further!"
Qiel raised her bow and shot a few arrows into the sky. This time, she was planning to rain them down with multiple arrows.
"!!!" Dimitri raised his head. Now that he was near the bricks, he couldn't feel anything that could protect them. There was a feeling that Noel was too optimistic about it.
To prove it, Dimitri rushed to the kids and waved his blade a few times, sending forth a few shadows to the sky to wrap the arrow before making it explode.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
A series of explosions occurred. Even after reaching the border, there was no barrier or whatever that would help them. In fact, not a single reinforcement was sent, making him think the plan had failed.
"This is the end, Dimitri." Nelfer arrived in front of him, taking advantage of his focus on the arrows to deliver a huge damage on him.
'I don't have enough time to circulate my energy…' Dimitri thought and chose to use his body as a shield. At the same time, he grabbed Tristan and Sandra before tossing them away so that they didn't get injured.
"What?" Tristan and Sandra couldn't even react, but their faces became pale when they saw Dimitri was about to be punched by Nelfer.
But before that fist could land on Dimitri's body, another palm struck the fist.
Hell Blaze.
"!!!" Both Nelfer and Dimitri were surprised that Noel managed to reach them.
Noel's palm released a burst of black flame, trying to engulf Nelfer's entire arm.
Nelfer could feel the intense flame despite not sensing a lot of heat from the Undying Flame.
However, he also coated his arm with his Spiritual Energy and even turned it into steel.
"Do you think someone like you can easily block my fist?" Nelfer roared as he released another burst of energy. Instead of dispelling the flame, he directed that energy to Noel's hand.
"!!!" Noel widened his eyes because this was the same thing as what happened during the training with Old Ru. He used that energy to shred his arm. In an instant, a few parts of his skin were sliced.
Noel used his Spiritual Energy to counter that energy, but Nelfer's torrential energy was so explosive that it ended up knocking him back.
Still, that burst of flame managed to stop Nelfer's punch from hitting Dimitri. The latter hurriedly waved his blade, but Nelfer easily avoided it by jumping to the side.
The Spirit Grandmasters began looping around as Nelfer shouted, "Surround those two kids."
Qiel also shot out a few arrows to make Noel and Dimitri busy. It was possible to aim at them simultaneously now that they were close to each other.
"Master!" Dimitri assessed the situation. Even if he could stop Nelfer and Qiel, it would be hard to stop those Devil Bishops. He thought this would be over once they crossed the border, but it seemed that he had to use the True Spirit Body to cover them until they reached the border city.
Looking at the incoming arrows, Noel remained calm as he said, "Don't worry, Dimitri. The battle is over."
"The battle is over, you say? You must be blind because—" Nelfer wanted to refute Noel, but before he finished his words, there were numerous Spiritual Energy fluctuations in the surrounding area. "!!!"
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
The ground started to tremble as a huge ice wall emerged from beneath the bricks that had been used as the border before. The wall was so tall that it reached the arrows' altitude and completely blocked them.
Just from seeing how sophisticated other kingdoms' borders were, it should be weird to find the Greenwood Kingdom only had bricks as their borders. That was where Noel's confidence came from.
It happened when Noel visited Tristan and Sandra.
"This is what I want you to do after reaching the next city." Noel handed Tristan a letter.
"A letter? Do we have to deliver this somewhere?"
"No. I want you to use the kingdom's mailing service and use a lot of money to make this letter their priority. This letter will be the one saving us, so that means your role is important here. Can you do it?"
"I understand. I will not disappoint you, Master." Tristan nodded furiously before he fell silent while staring at the letter. Out of curiosity, he asked, "If… you don't mind… can I know to whom this letter is addressed?"
At that time, Noel smiled as he stated the identity of that person. "It's obvious. He is the former strongest court magician of the Greenwood Kingdom, Raincart Ezenholm, my grandfather."
He was already frustrated with how the Ardagan Family 'snatched' his daughter from him. So, there was no way he would let a mere Supreme Devil Organization kidnap his grandson.
Without anyone realizing it, there was an old man appearing behind Tristan and Sandra.
"So, you two are the kids that he mentioned. You don't have to run anymore."
"Eh?" Tristan and Sandra raised their heads. The old man had a gentle smile, but they could feel the hatred in his eyes. That hatred was directed at all the Grandmasters that tried to surround them.
The old man was wearing a white robe and holding a staff. There was a blue jewel on the staff that let out a flickering light.
The people from the organization furrowed their eyebrows, wondering who this old man was.
Meanwhile, Nelfer might be the only one from the organization who could see through the old man's strength. His face became pale as he shouted, "Not good. Run away!"
That shout startled everyone, but the old man replied with a cold tone. "Do you think you can run away?"
That cold tone somehow spread and turned into a cold atmosphere, rapidly lowering the temperature in the surrounding area.
Before anyone could react, the old man hit the ground with the back of his staff.
"Frozen World."
A thick layer of ice was formed on top of the ground and spread in all directions, instantly engulfing the Devil Bishops' feet as it spread all over their bodies and ultimately turning them into ice statues.
"!!!" Nelfer widened his eyes in shock. He couldn't sense any life from the ice statues anymore as they suddenly crumbled into pieces. Never in his wildest dream would an old man like this appear.
With just a single tap of his staff, he actually froze an area in a hundred-meter radius and killed eight Spirit Grandmasters. Even if they weren't prepared, Dimitri didn't possess that kind of strength.
With another tap of his staff, the old man disappeared.
"He—" Nelfer instinctively smashed something on his left, albeit he found no one. All of a sudden, he felt a cold hand touching his right arm.
"Is this the one that injured my grandson? You don't need it anymore then."
Ice formed and covered the entire arm.
'What? I reacted too late.' Nelfer gritted his teeth. He had used his Spiritual Energy to stop the ice energy from freezing his entire body, but it actually reached up to his shoulder. More importantly, once his arm was covered in thick ice, it soon crumbled into pieces. "You mere magician!"
Nelfer spun his body, trying to use his physical advantage to blow him away. But the old man actually moved faster than him and grabbed his face. He had even leaped on top of his body so that the punch missed.
"Do you think a magician can only shoot their power from behind?" He snorted as he placed his hands on both Nelfer's face and chest.
Boom!
Boom!
Two explosions occurred as two arrows blasted through the ice wall, making it crumble.
Nelfer knew Qiel would be in his rescue, yet the old man only looked at the crumbling ice wall with an emotionless face.
"A mere terrorist dares to run rampant in my kingdom, there is only one outcome." He harrumphed as he circulated his energy on both hands. "Execute."
"!!!" Nelfer's body jolted before his eyes rolled upward until the black pupil disappeared completely. Before his body fell, an ice crystal appeared on the back of his head and chest.
The old man used Nelfer's body as a cushion to land on the ground. Despite the frail old back, it somehow looked very sturdy and reliable. Even Dimitri and Noel didn't expect that he was this strong.
The old man turned his head around with a smile. "It's been a while, my little grandson."
