Masha could not understand why Xiliya suddenly possessed such formidable strength. Logically speaking, this useless young lady had never shown any magical talent from childhood to now. Even if she had talent, she should not have become this strong all of a sudden!
But thinking about it now was pointless. The Beastman Priest stood in front of her, and Masha exerted all her effort to crawl to a position far from the battlefield. All she could do now was pray that the Beastman Priest was stronger than Xiliya.
The battle between Xiliya and the Beastman Priest was on the verge of erupting, but the remaining City Guard soldiers exchanged glances with each other. They were not fools—their goal today was not necessarily to take down the Beastman Priest.
They could wait until Xiliya held the Beastman Priest at bay, then go capture Masha. As long as they seized Masha, they could retreat.
However, Masha also realized this. She gritted her teeth and pulled a small hourglass from her bosom—the very magitool she had used earlier with Samuer to block the magic crystal.
Without any hesitation, Masha turned the switch at the base of the hourglass. A golden protective barrier centered on the hourglass immediately enveloped her from all sides—this hourglass originally had a barrier-like effect.
Countless cracks instantly appeared on the hourglass. Watching this advanced magitool, which she had painstakingly obtained, be destroyed like this, Masha felt no heartache at all. All the foundation she had accumulated over the days was for this very moment.
“That’s at least an intermediate barrier or higher. Brute force probably won’t break it.”
Xiliya sensed the magical fluctuations from Masha’s side and quickly came to a conclusion. This meant that if they wanted to take Masha away, they had to deal with the Beastman Priest first.
“Heh heh heh…” The Beastman Priest let out a series of eerie laughs like a broken bellows. “Still thinking of taking someone away? Worry about whether you can survive first!”
The Beastman Priest was extremely confident in his own strength. He stepped forward, aimed his decayed wooden staff at Xiliya, and launched the first attack!
The battle ignited in an instant. The originally serene grove was shattered by the massive roars of clashing magic. The Beastman Priest had no intention of holding back—he went all out from the start!
Xiliya was immensely grateful that she had lured Masha to this suburban grove to psychologically torment her with the killing. If Masha had summoned the Beastman Priest in the city out of desperation… she did not even dare to imagine the casualties from such a magical bombardment!
Fortunately, now Xiliya could unleash her full power without restraint. Ximo, Selina, and the others had wisely retreated far away, so Xiliya did not have to worry about accidentally injuring them.
Meanwhile, Ximo, who watched from not far away, had her eyes widened round in astonishment.
Since transmigrating to this world, this was the first time she had properly witnessed a battle between mages. So, battles between mages were this… dazzling!
In truth, no matter the race, research into destructive magic ultimately gravitated toward greater power, wider range, and more ruthless area coverage.
It was just like wars in the modern world—research into weapons inevitably progressed toward nuclear arms.
After all, hitting farther, dealing more damage, and covering a larger area—these three criteria were practically the standards of strength.
Thus, battles between powerful mages often devolved into grand magical barrages. The combatants became like two humanoid mobile artillery platforms, dodging and defending against each other’s attacks while trying to blanket the opponent in firepower.
It was just like watching fireworks… The dazzling array of clashing magics before her led Ximo to such a thought.
But there were differences even among fireworks. In Ximo’s eyes, the Beastman Priest’s bizarre spells did not look like proper fireworks at all. After his dark-toned magics blasted out, the struck areas showed signs of corrosion, making them look disgusting.
In contrast, the magic Xiliya used appeared far more orderly. As expected of a student who had studied at the Imperial Capital Magic Academy, Xiliya’s style was the clean, unified academy approach: magical elements condensed and fired off, with light blue magical barriers protecting her surroundings. Her combat style was efficient and swift.
Yet, watching the two exchange evenly matched magical barrages, Ximo grew anxious in her heart.
Xiliya seemed to be holding her own against the Beastman Priest, but… her intuition told Ximo that if this dragged on, Xiliya would definitely lose.
In fact, Ximo’s premonition was accurate. Xiliya had also realized the problem. While clashing with the Beastman Priest, she rapidly thought of countermeasures.
After exchanging blows for a while, she had roughly gauged that the Beastman Priest’s strength was around Mid-Level Second Rank, half a minor tier above her own.
If it were just this gap in raw power, Xiliya was confident she could make up for it with combat experience. After all, in her previous life, she had constantly been hunted, growing accustomed to high-intensity fights.
But her biggest problem now was—insufficient mana reserves.
Against an opponent of comparable strength, the battle could easily turn into a war of attrition. And the reborn Xiliya knew she had a major weakness: she could not store much mana.
Though her strength had recovered to just beyond intermediate level, mana reserves were a matter of gradual accumulation. The “storage space” she had lost could not be restored so quickly.
This meant that if the fight became prolonged, it would be extremely disadvantageous for her. She had to find a way to end it quickly!
But that was easier said than done. How could she swiftly defeat an opponent whose raw strength slightly exceeded her own?
While Xiliya pondered bitterly, on the other side, the watching Ximo steeled her resolve. She wanted to help Xiliya too!
Selina beside her noticed Ximo’s agitation and quickly pulled her back.
“Ximo, this is no joke. Rushing in won’t help Miss Xiliya at all—you’ll just be throwing your life away!”
“No, it won’t…”
Ximo stared intently at the two in combat and licked her molars.
She slipped her hand into her sleeve and touched the short dagger hidden there. Ever since those fuzzy memories in her mind had gradually awakened, she had developed the habit of carrying a weapon on her.
Though she still could not figure out if those fuzzy memories truly belonged to her—this body’s instincts were something Ximo had already tested before.
When chased by the Beastmen Clan, she had relied on the body’s instincts to hide in a tree. If she could do that, then fighting… should be possible too!
More importantly, the intense battle before her seemed to awaken some instinct in Ximo. Watching the two fighters, she felt her own body stirring restlessly.
