Chapter 146: Chapter 145: Annihilating Osborne

The next day, before dawn.

Ian left Alevia a simple message via his Secret Magic Mark.

"Handling some personal business. About a month."

Ian stood on the cliff’s edge outside the High Tower, the night wind stirring his deep blue long robe.

"Ian, let’s fly!" Gaga could no longer wait, leaping from his shoulder.

The moment it landed, its body swelled, growing larger in the wind.

Its wings unfolded like the night curtain, its feathers shimmering with an iridescent black luster. The wingspan easily surpassed fifteen meters, casting a huge shadow on the ground.

In the dawn light, its mismatched eyes—one gray, one cyan—shimmered with a clever brilliance.

The oppressive aura of a Tier One Extraordinary Creature emanated from it, sending the birds and beasts in the nearby forest scattering in terror.

Ian pushed off the ground with the tip of his toe, his form floating up to land steadily on Gaga’s broad back.

"Let’s go."

"GAA!"

Gaga let out a long, clear cry and gave a powerful beat of its wings.

BOOM!

A shockwave erupted, yet its massive body displayed incredible agility and speed.

Like a black arrow loosed from its string, it shot clear of Shadow Moon Tower’s domain in an instant and vanished into the clouds.

The wind howled past his ears, tearing through the clouds with ease.

Ian stood with his hands clasped behind his back, robes whipping in the wind, as he gazed down at the mountains and rivers rapidly receding below.

His Spiritual Power as a Level One Wizard shielded his body, keeping the raging wind at bay.

This speed was more than double what he could achieve flying on his own.

He made a mental note to find a Tier One Flying Witchcraft for himself when he had the time.

"How much longer?"

"Very soon, GAA!" Gaga’s voice was still clear despite the wind.

"I’m way faster than those sluggish Floating Ships."

Sure enough, in less than half an hour, a valley encircled by mountains appeared below.

A castle, watchtowers, a training ground... The contours of the Osborne Clan’s territory were clearly visible.

It was early morning. Servants within the clan had already begun their work, and wisps of cooking smoke were rising into the air.

Ian’s eyes were impassive, betraying no hint of emotion.

"Down."

"You got it!"

Gaga folded its wings, its massive body descending with a terrifying, oppressive presence. It plummeted like a meteor straight toward the most imposing castle in the center of the valley!

...

The training ground in front of the Osborne Clan’s main fortress.

Four High Level Apprentices were supervising more than thirty Mid- and Low-Level Apprentices in their morning Meditation.

The atmosphere in the valley was solemn, but everything was proceeding as usual.

Suddenly, the terrifying shriek of something tearing through the air rapidly approached from overhead.

WHOOSH!!!

Everyone looked up instinctively.

The next second, their pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks.

Endless fear, like ice water, instantly flooded their hearts and minds.

A terrifying black behemoth of a bird with a wingspan of over fifteen meters was plummeting from the sky at a speed they could not comprehend!

The giant bird’s eyes were mismatched, cold and merciless.

On the great bird’s broad back, a figure in deep blue stood with his hands clasped behind him.

His robes billowed in the turbulent airflow, his face calm, his gaze impassive.

’A Level One Wizard!’

’And that terrifying beast must be an Extraordinary Summoned Demon.’

An indescribable pressure, as substantial as a physical mountain, came crashing down with the great bird’s dive.

THUMP! THUMP!...

On the training ground, the thirty-odd Mid- and Low-Level Apprentices were slammed to the ground by the terrifying pressure, unable to even utter a whimper.

Their faces were pressed against the cold, rough ground, unable to move a muscle. Only their teeth chattered uncontrollably.

It was a pure, unassailable gap in their level of being.

The four High Level Apprentices only managed to last a moment longer.

Their bones creaked under the immense strain, their faces were as pale as paper, and veins bulged on their foreheads.

The four of them used every ounce of their strength to avoid being forced to their knees, but their backs were already bent double, their eyes filled with horror and despair.

’What is this?’

’When did the clan provoke such a terrifying being?!’

BOOM!

Gaga landed with a heavy thud. The gale from its wings swept the surrounding area clean of dust and debris, revealing the smooth stone slabs of the ground.

It elegantly folded its massive wings, cocked its head, and surveyed the group of "little Insects" below with great interest.

Ian floated down from its back, feet never touching the ground, and hovered five meters in the air.

His calm gaze swept across the scene.

The grounds fell deathly silent, the sound of breathing almost inaudible.

Everyone was like a chicken with its neck being wrung, unable to even let out a scream of terror.

Only their bodies, trembling violently by instinct, betrayed the terror in their hearts.

An old man who looked like the clan leader came scrambling and crawling out from the main fortress.

He was, in fact, the Clan Leader of the Osborne Clan.

When he saw the scene in the square, and the figure in the air that looked both divine and demonic, his legs went weak and he immediately fell into a full prostration.

He slammed his forehead against the stone slabs with audible thuds, his voice choked with sobs and abject terror.

"My lord! Esteemed Lord Wizard, the Osborne Clan does not know how we have offended you! We beg you to quell your anger, we beg for your mercy!

The clan will obey your every command, we only beg you to spare the lives of these ignorant fools!"

He didn’t even dare to ask who the visitor was or why he had come.

In the face of the absolute Power of a Level One Wizard and his terrifying Summoned Demon, the act of questioning was itself an offense.

Ian finally spoke. His voice was not loud, yet it pierced the very depths of their trembling souls.

"Leon Osborne once hunted me down."

Those six simple words were like a final death sentence.

Below, the eyes of everyone—especially the Clan Leader and the four High Level Apprentices—were instantly swallowed by boundless despair.

They understood. This was a calamity that would annihilate their clan!

This was the price for the hunt they had launched years ago, targeting a single "Magic Potion Apprentice"!

Some sank into utter despair, but for others, that extreme fear and hopelessness gave birth to a twisted resentment.

’By what right?!’

’By what right could that Apprentice, once just like them, now return to decide their very survival?!’

This faint but distinct flicker of resentment, like a spark in the darkness, was instantly detected by both Ian and Gaga.

Ian didn’t even turn his head. He simply lifted the index finger of his left hand.

He pointed casually in the direction of the Middle Level Apprentice who had harbored that hatred.

HISS.

A faint, almost imperceptible violet ray of light flashed and vanished.

The venomous look on that Apprentice’s face froze solid.

The next second, an intense frost erupted from his heart, covering his entire body in the blink of an eye.

"CRACK."

A lifelike ice sculpture, its expression a perfect mask of terror and resentment, now stood amidst the crowd.

In the morning light, the ice sculpture reflected a cold, hard gleam.

Silence.

This time, even the last trace of resentment vanished completely. All that remained was pure, bone-deep terror.

Many had wet their trousers, completely unaware.

Ian’s gaze fell upon the five High Level Apprentices, who were trembling uncontrollably and on the verge of collapse.

"Were you the ones involved in the decision and the hunt back then?"

His tone was still flat, as if he were asking about the weather.

"My lord, spare us! It... it was the elders’ decision! We were just following orders!"

One of the High Level Apprentices broke down, crying out in despair.

"Hm."

Ian acknowledged this, then raised his right hand. He pointed his fingers at the five High Level Apprentices and all the prostrate Mid- and Low-Level Apprentices on the ground, then slowly closed his hand into a fist.

There were no incantations, no complex gestures.

VMMMM!

Dozens of dazzling, bright white rays of light, like living snakes made of sunlight.

They materialized out of thin air before the foreheads of every Wizard Apprentice, and in the same instant, gently tapped inward.

For an instant, Time itself seemed to freeze. Then, in the next moment... 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

POP. POP. POP. POP...

A series of soft sounds, like popping bubbles, echoed through the air.

The five High Level Apprentices, along with the thirty-odd Mid- and Low-Level Apprentices on the ground, didn’t even have time to scream.

Starting from the point on their foreheads where the rays had touched, their bodies instantly disintegrated into the finest Ashes, which shimmered with a faint white light.

The morning wind blew, and their remains quietly scattered, annihilated.

On the training ground, besides the solitary ice sculpture, not a single Wizard Apprentice remained.