Chapter 468 Obedience

"Tsk… I should be included in the Vanguard Force… Why did Yulia exclude me?! So annoying…" Lesley grumbled as she used Wind Blade to cut the climbing vines of the Treant…

Her team was only tasked to cut off the growth of the treants which can be done by any Magicians. At her current level, she believes that she could do something better than this. She wanted to get closer and have better achievements in this battle.

Unfortunately, she can't simply disobey Yulia's words.

Currently, she was able to gain Brycen's favor and is now his prospective apprentice. Though she wasn't fully accepted yet, she believes that she will be his disciple soon as long as she passes all the tests he gives and if she performed well in this battle against the Black Magic Organization.

This is why even though she wanted to disobey Yulia and go to the frontline, she still remained in her position… She can't show how disobedient she was in front of Brycen.

However, she feels that her contribution is just not enough to be praised by Brycen…

'Right, father said that I should do above and beyond what I'm supposed to accomplish… That way I can gain more recognition from Sir Brycen…

Lesley suddenly had an idea. She needed to impress Brycen so she can be accepted as an official apprentice… That way she can learn the Mana Cultivation Method that he knows and she can advance her rank with a solid foundation…

"I'm planning to destroy the Treant's body… Are you going to follow me?" Lesley suddenly asked as she looked at her team.

"Ah? We're told not to leave our position."

"It doesn't matter. I will follow you wherever you go, Lady Lesley…"

"Me too…"

"Just lead the way, Lady Lesley!"

Lesley has four subordinates right now and all of them were from the younger generation of their Zemin Clan as well. While one of them was hesitant, the other three were willing to go since they know that she won't be punished anyway since she was the daughter of the patriarch.

Furthermore, she was the ex-fiance of the city lord so there shouldn't be a problem.

Lesley looked at the hesitant guy on her team. She didn't scold him but she even showed a smile.

"It's alright if you can't follow us… Just stay here and continue with the task of cutting vines… You should be able to do our part as well, right?"

"Y-yes… I will do my best, Lady Lesley!" The young man replied. Even though it will be tough, there shouldn't be a problem if he goes over his limit for a short duration… He has plenty of potions in his pouch as well.

"Good! We will leave now…"

Lesley then used the Zemin Clan's famous movement technique, Vanishing Steps.

This technique allowed them to move almost undetected. Although it isn't as fast as other Movement Techniques, the Vanishing Steps allow them to move stealthily.

They then immediately headed toward the main body of the Treant at the deck of the Airship.

Since the group of Grand Magus and Grand Knights decided to enter the airship to search for its core, no one was bothering the Treant that is on the deck right now…

All the others were also busy dealing with the roots and vines that were spreading towards the whole place.

As soon as they arrived, they immediately launched an assault to try and destroy the treant's body…

"Blazing Meteor…"

Lesley, who was also known for her Fusion Arts, immediately used her strongest Mana Art in a close range...

Using it in a long range can be quite dangerous since it might be pushed away by the treant's roots and may spread the blazing flame everywhere…

However, with such a close distance, Lesley doesn't have to worry about missing the target…

Her Mana Art attracted some attention as the others realized that Lesley have decided to attack at such a close distance…

Boom!

The Blazing Meteor, a fusion of Fire and Earth elements, crashed at the treant's huge trunk and created a huge hole in it…

The edges of the hole were even burned and it was starting to spread throughout its body…

"Now!"

Lesley signaled her subordinates as they used several Mana Arts to widen the hole that her Blazing Meteor had created.

She also joined in and used her other Fire Elemental Arts against the treant…

Well, Earth and Water aren't quite useful against it. As for the Wind Element, she doesn't have a powerful Wind Mana Art that could be useful in this situation.

"Fire Arrow…"

"Flaming Serpent…"

"Fire Ball!"

Three basic Fire Elemental Arts were used… They have mastered different styles because of their own preference, however, the power was still about the same.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As the three magic collided with the Treant's body, the magicians had to defend themselves with their Mana Shield since the shockwave created by the explosion may sweep them away.

After all, the Treant's body is still emitting strong fluctuations of mana. It means that their Mana Arts will collide with this energy and will certainly result in an explosion.

They braced themselves and realized that they have indeed made the right decision… They wanted to continue doing this until the Treant's huge trunk was fully split into two but they suddenly heard someone's command from afar!

"Move back! Now! It's dangerous!

They don't know where this order came from but they know that it wasn't from Yulia…

Of course, they know that it's dangerous getting this close to the treant so they weren't too surprised hearing this warning.

However, they believe that there wouldn't be any problems since they have prepared themselves and they have life-saving Magic Tools with them… Even if they were in a life-threatening situation, triggering those magic tools should be enough to deal with it…

Instead of heeding the warning given to them, they instead looked at Lesley to decide what to do next…

"Hmph! Just continue! After we finished this thing off---" Lesley wanted to say something more but she immediately felt something wrong…

Several huge roots suddenly sprouted around them…

They cast several Mana Arts to cut them off but to their surprise, the enemy magicians appeared from it!

They were hidden inside the roots of the treant!

This took them by surprise as they hastily cast their Defensive Mana Arts in anticipation of the incoming bombardment…

Flame Wall!

Boulder Defense!

Boom! Boom!

Their decision was right! As soon as their Tier 3 Defensive Mana Arts were summoned, Mana Bullets rained down on them!

The Fire Wall and Boulder Defense dissipated most of the Mana Bullets but some of them still pierced through!

Bang! Bang!

Two of Lesley's subordinates were hit by Mana Bullets which disoriented them for a moment. The bullet may not have put a hole in their bodies, but it is still strong enough to stun them.

Lesley and the other two have to protect them during this!

"Cyclone Field!"

Lesley used another Fusion Arts easily. Though she didn't finish her studies in the Black Tower's Academy, she had at least learned how to maximize her talent in Fusion Arts… She had focused on this area so she no longer takes a lot of time to cast one Fusion Art after another.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Cyclone Field stopped the attacks temporarily. Lesley then checked the condition of the two and confirmed that they weren't heavily injured.

"We'll kill the Magicians of the Black Magic Organization first…" Lesley said as she confirmed that they were only facing Archmages and Adept Mages.

They shouldn't encounter trouble dealing with these people.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

"Aahh!"

Suddenly, the deck they were standing on crumbled as they nearly fell to the vines that were about to embrace them…

"It's dangerous! We need to leave this area!" One of Lesley's subordinates can no longer take it as he activated his life-saving tool. It is called Overload Mana Crystal which can enhance his abilities.

He didn't mind spending this Ephemeral Mana Art that he has been saving since it would be useless if he died right now…

A strong burst of mana suddenly enveloped his body!

During this time, his mana had increased by five times, and his Mana Control had reached an Advanced Level as well.

Vanishing Steps!

He used the same movement technique but this time, he didn't lack the speed! He was even faster than Fire Dash users of his level.

As he felt that it was too easy and that he reached a safe distance, he decided to stop midway to attack the magicians that were aiming at him…

Well, since he can't cast multiple Mana Arts at the same time, he has to stop his Vanishing Steps. Anyway, his speed casting is still at a decent level so he wasn't worried…

Mana Bullets!

"This is the real Mana Bullets! Die!"

Since his Mana had increased and his control had also reached a higher level, he felt confident that his Mana Bullets can pierce anything…

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three Mana Bullets were shot in succession!

"Hahaha!"

He hit the enemy magicians with great precision and as he was celebrating, he felt a warm sensation on his chest only to see that a wooden spear created by the Treant pierced his body!

Aaaarggghhh!

It was the same for Lesley and her two other subordinates!

The two young men were unlucky to get pierced in their throats while Lesley managed to survive thanks to her Epic-Grade Armor that protected her chest…