Chapter 79: Chapter 73: A Bountiful Harvest Tonight

About ten minutes later, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted in the distance, the sound carrying far under the quiet night sky.

Su Ya and Peng Yan jerked their heads up, their eyes wide as they stared into the distance.

Several kilometers away, at the manor’s location, the once-dark night sky was now stained a brilliant blue-white. Countless thick bolts of lightning, like roaming dragons, flashed and weaved through the air, illuminating a thousand-meter radius as if it were broad daylight.

Pei Ze gazed toward the manor, a strange look flashing across his face.

’This is... the aura of spatial fluctuations.’

Pei Ze understood immediately.

An Official Wizard’s destructive power was terrifying; a single casual strike could level swathes of buildings.

If a battle between Official Wizards were to break out, the area for several kilometers around the manor would likely be reduced to ruins.

Naturally, the City Guard Army and High Tower Academy wouldn’t allow that to happen. It was only logical that they would erect a barrier to contain the aftershocks of the battle.

After watching for a moment, Pei Ze retracted his gaze and said calmly, "Prepare for battle. The enemy should be here soon."

As if in response to his words, a roar echoed from the distance, accompanied by faint flashes of light.

Clearly, the heretics fleeing the manor had already engaged the City Guard Army.

Su Ya’s lips pressed into a thin line. She drew the Longsword from her waist, her gaze stern as she stared ahead, looking as though she were facing a formidable foe.

Peng Yan, on the other hand, seemed somewhat excited, subconsciously licking his lips.

The warlike nature that came with his barbarian bloodline meant that not only was he unafraid of the coming battle, he was actually eager for it.

To Su Ya’s astonishment, the sounds of battle in the distance lasted only a short while before quickly dying down.

In the darkness, numerous figures could be seen running and leaping, rapidly approaching their position.

"What’s going on?" Su Ya’s face was a mask of shock and doubt. "Is the City Guard Army’s fighting strength that weak? How could the enemy break through so quickly?"

Peng Yan scratched his head in confusion. "Are the enemies that strong?"

Pei Ze stared calmly at the distant figures, not at all surprised.

Ever since Huo Nan had forcibly assigned him to Area 28, he had suspected that Huo Nan had another move planned.

To ensure his death, simply assigning him to the area with the most defensive pressure was clearly not enough.

As long as Huo Nan wasn’t an idiot, he would surely have a follow-up plan.

The most reliable method was to sabotage the first line of defense, allowing more enemies through to increase the difficulty of defending Area 28.

If Area 28 had originally been on Nightmare difficulty, then after Huo Nan’s meddling, it had now become Hell difficulty.

—Of course, that’s only for ordinary apprentices.

A few breaths later, the figures had already reached the edge of the block.

In the bright moonlight, Pei Ze soon made out the figures of the newcomers.

Twenty-six people in total.

The skin of nearly half of them had a dark, granite-like color in the moonlight, giving off a sense of indestructibility.

’A spell-like ability, similar to the Stone Skin Technique!’

This was the signature ability of the Demon Cultivators from Ah Beipu’s faction.

In addition, three of them were covered in a thick layer of stone armor. As they ran, their footsteps hit the ground with dull thuds, like Stone Giants, radiating an immense sense of pressure.

As her gaze fell upon those three, Su Ya’s expression changed.

"Peak Grand Knights!"

According to the intelligence provided by the City Guard Army, a Demon Cultivator who could form stone armor was equivalent in strength to a Peak Grand Knight.

In other words, there were three Peak Grand Knights among the attacking enemies!

And nine of the others were at the level of Grand Knights!

’How are we supposed to fight this lineup?’

Su Ya’s heart sank.

An ordinary Third-level Wizard Apprentice could barely manage to defeat a single Peak Grand Knight.

’Pei Ze might be stronger than an ordinary Third-level Wizard Apprentice, but his limit is probably handling two Peak Grand Knights at once.’

’One against three... The hope of victory is incredibly slim.’

’Even if Peng Yan and I can hold off the remaining heretics, Pei Ze alone probably can’t handle those three Peak Grand Knight-level Demon Cultivators.’

’The situation is undoubtedly dire!’

Noticing that someone was blocking their path, the heretics all stopped, their expressions guarded and their gazes cold as they looked at the figures ahead.

But when they saw it was only a single Wizard Apprentice and two Knight Students, their guarded expressions vanished, replaced by sneers.

"So it’s just three wet-behind-the-ears brats."

"Judging by their clothes, they must be students from the Wizard Academy and the Knight Academy."

"Those damned Wizards! They’re using us for training fodder!"

"Enough talk. Kill them and let’s get out of here. Who knows if more pursuers are right behind us."

The leader, a Demon Cultivator with a scar on his face, barked in a low voice, cutting off his companions’ chatter.

His authority in the group seemed considerable; as soon as he spoke, the others fell silent, their cold gazes fixed on Pei Ze and his two companions.

When they had first escaped the manor and run into the City Guard Army on the perimeter, they thought their luck had run out for the night.

Who would have thought the City Guard Army’s defensive line would be so fragile? They broke through with ease.

And now, blocking this critical path was just a single Wizard Apprentice and two Knight Students. If they killed these three and escaped into the residential district, they would be home free. The City Guard Army could forget about ever catching them.

At this thought, savage grins spread across the faces of the heretics.

Facing more than twenty heretics radiating killing intent, Su Ya’s face paled slightly. She subconsciously tightened her grip on her sword hilt and gritted her teeth.

Peng Yan’s expression was equally grim.