Chapter 161: Interception and Assassination

Chapter 161: Ambush

July 30th, dawn.

Li Wei prepared to leave Feihua City and return to Maple City.

The Mage Exchange was nearing its end.

Before departing, he had intended to purchase several spell models.

But he discovered that the spell models at the exchange were far more expensive.

Expensive—only in Li Wei’s eyes.

Not truly more costly.

Inside the Mage Tower, a single spell model was broken down into multiple learning sessions.

Paid in installments, the price naturally seemed lower.

Yet here at the exchange, complete grimoires were traded—each inscribed with permanent spell matrices.

Of course, their price was higher.

Once bought, one could study them endlessly.

But for Li Wei, such permanence was unnecessary.

He needed only learn once to memorize the entire matrix.

To him, the Mage Tower’s offerings were clearly superior in value.

Seeing this, Li Wei abandoned the idea of buying spell models outside.

He set off on his return journey.

He did not take a carriage. With Shadow Servant as his steed, travel was smoother, swifter.

After leaving Feihua City for some distance,

he summoned the Shadow Servant.

Li Wei soared through the air like a man riding a cloud of somersaults,

flying low beneath the morning sky.

Meanwhile, Wickes and his companion prepared to depart Feihua City.

He couldn’t bear it—having missed the armored man, such a prized catch.

As they reached the city gate, he suddenly halted.

Wickes stared around in disbelief.

He had sensed the lingering trace of a tracking zephyr spirit.

Could it be? The armored man hadn’t left?

He saw no zephyr spirit in sight.

Yet his heart trembled. He quickly focused his senses, seeking the spirit’s location.

It had already left the city—and was now swiftly receding into the distance.

"Wickes, why aren't you moving?" Milus asked.

Wickes snapped back to awareness and hurried toward his master, whispering, "I’ve located the tracking zephyr spirit on the armored man."

"Hm?" Milus’ expression shifted in surprise.

"Didn’t you say just days ago that he’d already gone?" he asked, puzzled.

Wickes shook his head. "We must have been deceived then.

This time—I truly sense the spirit’s position."

Milus paused in thought, then turned to the others. "You all go ahead. Wickes and I have unfinished business."

The group split. Under Wickes’ guidance, the two men raced in the direction Li Wei had taken.

Li Wei had traveled a stretch of road when he heard someone rapidly approaching from behind.

Instinctively, he glanced back.

Two figures glided along wind tracks, closing in fast.

He froze for a moment, alertness surging through him.

As they drew nearer, he recognized Wickes’ face.

"Damn!"

"Phantom Form!"

Li Wei swiftly concealed his true features.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The two figures cut him off—one before, one behind.

Li Wei was forced to stop. The Shadow Servant silently slipped into the shadows beneath his feet.

Milus studied the youth before him, astonishment flickering across his face.

"So—you are Kai?"

Wickes stared intently at Li Wei—the first time seeing Kai’s real face.

Yet he was certain. This was him.

"Yes. It's him. I smell the zephyr spirit on him."

Hearing this, Li Wei instantly understood—Wickes had marked him somehow.

That was how he’d been found.

Li Wei lowered his voice, masking his true tone.

"You’ve mistaken me. I’m not who you’re looking for. I am no Kai."

Wickes sneered. "Don’t play dumb."

"We’ll know soon enough. Come quietly—spare yourself the pain."

"I really am not the one you seek," Li Wei insisted.

"Enough talk. Take him first," Wickes growled.

Second-tier Wind spell!

Binding Zephyr!

A coil of wind wrapped around Li Wei’s body. A crushing force locked his arms to his sides, rigid and immobile.

His body lifted slightly, floating under the wind’s pull.

His toes barely grazed the ground.

Li Wei’s eyes narrowed.

In an instant—a small fireball shot straight toward Milus.

Wickes was irrelevant.

His strength posed no threat to Li Wei.

The only one who could was Milus.

A third-rank wind mage.

Milus let out a light laugh, utterly unconcerned by Li Wei’s tiny fireball spell.

“What rank of mage are you? Still using zero-rank spells like fireballs?”

Then the fireball struck him.

Boom!

The tremendous force sent shockwaves through Milus’s body.

The wind shield around him trembled violently; the airflow turned chaotic.

It took a moment before everything stabilized.

Surprise flickered across Milus’s face—how could a mere fireball carry such power?

Suddenly, he recalled Li Wei’s supercharged fireball that had obliterated the lava giant.

An inexplicable sense of foreboding stirred in his heart.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

To Milus’s astonishment, the first fireball wasn’t an end—it was just the beginning.

Li Wei unleashed a relentless barrage of fireballs, one after another.

Each fireball packed the force of a first-rank fire spell.

This unceasing bombardment rivaled the second-rank fire technique—the Chain Fireballs.

Milus’s shield now endured impacts equivalent to a continuous Chain Fireballs assault.

Worse still, Li Wei’s fireballs were numerous and swift—

relentless, overwhelming, impossible to evade.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Milus was stunned, nearly blinded by the explosions.

He could barely see straight.

Vikis reacted quickly.

“Damn it! Daring to resist!”

“Wind Slash!”

A thread of wind lashed across Li Wei’s body.

Clack! Clack! Clack!

Wind clashed against invisible armor, weaving together in fierce opposition.

Two forces battled fiercely.

Boom!

In the end, the wind blade shattered, while the invisible armor remained intact.

Vikis stared in shock and fury, preparing to unleash a stronger spell.

But Li Wei struck with both hands, bombarding the two with endless chains of fireballs.

Thanks to his mastery—strength rivaling a third-rank mage—he controlled zero-rank spells with such precision that dual casting became effortless.

Left and right, as natural as moving his own hands.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Within moments, Vikis could no longer endure.

His wind shield rapidly weakened, on the verge of shattering.

Desperate, he tore open a scroll.

“Assault Storm!”

A horizontal tornado surged toward Li Wei,

devouring every fireball in its path.

The violent winds disrupted the remaining fireballs, sending them spiraling wildly in all directions.

Boom!

Li Wei was hurled backward by the storm’s impact.

Two layers of his invisible armor cracked and shattered.

Seizing the chance, Milus launched his prepared third-rank spell.

“Thousand Fathom Tempest!”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Locked by the third-rank magic, countless wind blades materialized around Li Wei.

Ssssh! Ssssh! Ssssh!

Blades of wind converged, striking him in unison.

In an instant, he suffered hundreds—thousands—of slashing blows.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Layer after layer of his invisible armor splintered apart.

When the Thousand Fathom Tempest finally ceased,

only six layers of armor remained on Li Wei’s body.

After breaking through to the second rank, the invisible armor spell had allowed up to fifteen layers.

More would require further refinement of the technique itself.

Yet Milus, with a single third-rank spell, had shattered seven layers.

Truly terrifying power!

Though, admittedly, Li Wei had taken the full brunt—

a complete, devastating hit.

Li Wei plummeted downward.

Seeing him fall, yet still alive and seemingly unharmed, Milus gaped in disbelief.

“This… is impossible!”

(End of Chapter)