"No, I need to stay calm."

"The situation isn't that bad yet. With that unpredictable Pink Bear around, Lea wouldn't get into trouble so easily."

After the initial despair, Ariel quickly regained her composure. Her sharp eyes, like those of a hawk, began scanning the scene, now chaotic and ravaged.

"Master, can you sense anything?"

"The mana here is too unstable. My perception can't extend properly. However, there aren't any corpses here, so no one should have died."

Ariel looked toward the outer edge, where there was a mess of flesh mixed with the debris of a carriage.

"...The dragon-blood horses."

"That's good then."

Ariel let out a breath of relief and averted her gaze.

Without any bodies, there's still a good chance that survivors remain.

At any rate, she knew that until Lea was found—whether alive or dead—she would not give up.

"Let's search for clues first."

Carefully, Ariel stepped into the storm-ravaged plains and began her investigation.

The surroundings were in complete disarray: shattered trees, scattered stones, and earth fissured with massive cracks and depressions, as if two monstrous beasts had fought to the death here.

But no matter how chaotic it seemed, there were always traces left behind.

"This is..."

Her gaze sharpened, and excitement flickered across her face.

Just ahead, on the soft sandy ground, there were scattered footprints. Among them were clear tracks of wheel ruts, extending straight into the distance.

"A Dragon-blood Horse carriage! Someone left here in the Dragon-blood Horse carriages!"

Ariel’s voice rose with a hint of exhilaration. "There's a good chance it's Pink Bear and the others. That means Lea is still alive!"

Though the details remained unclear—and Ariel couldn't understand why she was left behind—her next steps were perfectly clear.

Follow those tracks and find the main group!

"I remember this direction is toward our destination—the border, right?"

Without hesitation, Ariel revitalized her energy, ignoring her exhaustion from fighting through the night, and prepared to sprint forward.

But just as she was about to take her first step, she suddenly froze in place.

Her excitement faded swiftly, replaced by a dark and wary expression.

"Who's there?"

Ariel turned her head and spoke in a deep voice:

"Come out."

"Huh?"

A confused and unfamiliar voice came from the shadows:

"A mere third-tier brat, yet you managed to sense me?"

From the relatively undisturbed forest around her, a faint mist had unknowingly started to spread. With a gust of wind rustling the leaves, this mist gathered rapidly, swirling and condensing.

Soon, in the near distance, the silhouette of a slender figure emerged from the mist.

It was a woman. She wore a mage's robe tailored to expose her pale chest and long legs. Her wavy hair flowed freely down her shoulders, and her heavily made-up face still held a hint of unnatural paleness.

As she revealed herself, her lazy, purple-shadowed eyes leisurely sized up Ariel. Smiling with amusement, she said:

"Since I couldn't join the follow-up hunting, I was just thinking of sneaking back to vent my frustration on whatever I could—never expecting to stumble upon this delightful surprise. Flat-chested brat, you're on the team with that duke's son, aren't you? I've read your profile in the intel."

Flat-chested...

"Who are you?"

Ariel's eye twitched slightly as she demanded sharply:

"What happened to the others? What do you want?"

"Oh my, unaware of anything? Were you left behind? Such pity."

The woman casually swirled her wand and chuckled lightly.

"Why don't you come with me, little brat? I'll teach you magic to enlarge your breast."

"Magic to enhance my breast? Great, I'd... Oh, screw you!"

Without warning, Ariel transformed into a phantom, lunging toward the woman like a hunting leopard.

"If such magic existed, I would've learned it long ago! Why would I need your help?"

With a blazing greatsword tightly gripped in her hands, Ariel’s figure twisted mid-air. Gathering all her strength, she slashed downward fiercely!

Boom!

The earth cracked as a torrent of scorching flames crashed like a meteor onto the woman.

The reflection of the approaching flame grew in the woman's eyes, yet her expression remained unperturbed.

Because the greatsword, the flames, and the fiery surge—all stopped in an instant.

Stopped before a faint golden barrier.

"Be careful, Ariel," her master's voice urgently rang in her ears.

"She's a Radiant-tier Grand Mage!"

"What—"

Ariel's pupils dilated in shock. She hastily retreated, pulling herself into a cautious stance.

A Radiant-tier mage!

Where did she come from?

Unlike the straightforward tiers of martial artists, magic—often considered the "leisure of nobles"—had far more intricate and detailed categorizations.

Mercury, Gold, Arcane, Ascension, Radiant, and finally Truth—the tier corresponding to The Crowned.

Ascending each of the six tiers represented deeper mastery of magical knowledge and a more refined manipulation of spells.

Though Ariel had recently advanced to Tier Three as a martial artist, her magic was just on the verge of breaking into the Arcane tier.

In other words, there existed a gap of more than two full tiers between her and this opponent!

Such disparities left no room for delusions about close combat reversing the situation. With just a few buffs and a casual swing of her staff, this mage could easily smack a lower-tier fighter to death.

"Can I even fight her?"

Sweat streamed down Ariel's forehead as she whispered internally.

"She seems injured."

"If her brain's intact... Probably not."

"Alright. Understood."

Taking a deep breath, Ariel steeled her resolve once more.

"Oh? It seems you've realized the disparity between us."

The woman tilted her head, her curious gaze now fixed on Ariel.

"But what does that look in your eyes mean?"

"Naturally, it means... I'm going to kill you!"

With a fierce roar, Ariel rushed toward the woman again—not retreating, but pressing forward even harder.

Her greatsword whipped through the air as its fiery arcs coalesced into a formidable whirlwind of flame, bearing down ferociously.

The fire unfolded like the end of days descending.

Yet, the woman’s expression remained utterly disdainful.

"Heh, you're overrating yourself."

Golden light radiated from her wand, solidifying the golden shield before her even further. Without needing an incantation, the blazing whirlwind was effortlessly held at bay.

"Really—this is all you have?"

Watching the relentless flames still trying vainly to engulf her, the woman sneered:

"Brat, your attack is as pitifully weak as that flat chest of yours."

"..."

No response.

"...Hmm?"

The woman's brow furrowed.

She can actually tolerate that?

A peculiar sense of foreboding suddenly flashed through her mind. Tightening her gaze, she whipped her magic wand and summoned a violent gust of wind to rip apart the flames in front of her.

And yet, there was no sign of the girl.

Turning sharply, all the woman saw was the distant silhouette of a fleeing figure disappearing swiftly into the forest’s edge—running away like a frightened rabbit.