Chapter 77: Resolution

Just as the white bone spike was about to pierce the back of Lin Wei’s head, the black sand around him suddenly surged into motion. Emerging from thin air, they gathered at the tip of the bone spike, forming a small shield that blocked the fatal blow.

“Do you know why I said this imitation space is weak?” Lin Wei suddenly opened his eyes, as if speaking to the air.

“Because…”

A grin spread across Lin Wei’s face.

“Because you, the one maintaining this imitation space, are truly weak!”

In an instant, Lin Wei spun around, thrusting his arm directly into the black fissure. The black stardust sand wrapped around his hand and forearm, forming a solid layer of defense.

“Let me see your true face!”

Lin Wei felt his hand seize the opponent’s arm and pulled with all his strength.

A shadowy figure was yanked in by sheer force.

It was a petite figure, her beige hair coiled atop her head, a mask covering the upper half of her face.

“A woman?” Lin Wei was somewhat surprised, but his movements did not pause; his pitch-black arm swung straight at the masked woman.

She gave a cold snort; with a twist of her arm, a white bone spike slashed toward Lin Wei’s throat.

“A second-level apprentice dares to challenge me with brute force? Are you… an utter fool?!”

With a thought, Lin Wei commanded the stardust sand to instantly bind the masked woman’s legs.

“Stardust Sand – Bind!”

She struggled desperately. A faint, transparent water membrane surfaced on her left hand, which she shaped into a blade, slicing through the chains of hardened sand around her legs.

The moment she broke free, she wasted no time—turning to flee.

“Corrosive sorcery? But where do you think you can run?”

A faint smile played at Lin Wei’s lips as he reached into the air. Instantly, the shadowy sand condensed into a massive hand, which clamped around the masked woman’s neck. From the back of this hand, several tendrils of sand branched out, binding her limbs.

“Come now, let me see your face.”

Lin Wei stepped forward, smiling at the masked woman.

She continued to struggle, but it was futile.

Lin Wei was intensely curious about this masked woman’s origins. He had no idea where he had provoked such an enemy—from the Shadowed Forest, or perhaps something to do with the disappearance of the royal family member from the Kingdom of Layton? If it was the latter, then he felt he had stepped into a whirlpool.

Lin Wei gently removed the woman’s mask.

Her face was above average, and in her eyes burned a fierce hostility.

Lin Wei gazed at her, his own face expressionless, lifting her chin with his hand. “Tell me—who are you? Where are you from? Why did you come after me?”

She snorted coldly, refusing to utter a word.

“You’re not from the Sorcerer’s Academy.” Lin Wei spoke directly, his eyes cold. “Your magical education isn’t orthodox—more like a patchwork.”

A flicker of surprise passed through her eyes, but she still remained silent.

Lin Wei’s patience seemed to wear thin; his grip on her chin tightened. “Are you mute? Speak, or I’ll crush your jawbone.”

A look of grim resolve crossed her face, a mocking smile tugging at her lips. “You’ll never get a word out of me.”

“Is that so? What a pity,” Lin Wei sighed softly.

A flash of satisfaction appeared on her face; seeing her enemy stymied brought her comfort.

“Do you think I’m disappointed because I can’t extract your secrets?” Lin Wei’s tone was calm.

She didn’t immediately grasp his meaning.

Lin Wei gently patted her cheek. “Even if you don’t speak, I know—you’re involved in the disappearance of the Kingdom of Layton’s royal member. Or rather, you came for that very reason.”

“Let me guess—your master fears that if the sorcerers of Shadowed Forest reach the capital, his deeds will be exposed. So, you ambushed me on the road, hoping to eliminate this threat in advance. I must say, your master…”

“Is as much a fool as you are!”

Lin Wei’s voice hardened; he looked at her with a trace of pity. “Even if I die, do you think the Shadowed Forest will simply let this go?”

“Don’t you dare insult my—” The woman bit her words off, Lin Wei’s insult clearly striking a nerve.

He clamped a hand over her mouth, her soft lips pressed against his palm.

“I’m quite curious—a girl who’s never received systematic magical education, how did you come to possess the lost art of imitation space? If you tell me, perhaps I’ll let you go.”

Lin Wei withdrew his hand, as if to show goodwill.

“In your dreams.”

She spat the words, gritting her teeth.

“When I said it was a pity, it wasn’t because I can’t learn your secrets,” Lin Wei said, running his fingers through her beige hair, “but because another young, beautiful life is about to be extinguished.”

In the next instant, the stardust sand binding her neck suddenly tightened, strangling her mercilessly.

With a crack, her head slumped, the light fading from her eyes.

Her body, released from the sand’s grip, collapsed limply to the ground.

“It seems the sky is returning to normal…” Lin Wei looked up.

Where darkness once reigned, streaks of light began to pierce through—bit by bit, inch by inch, as though curtains were being drawn back to let the starlight flood in.

“The imitation space is collapsing.”

Glancing around, Lin Wei saw that the small houses flanking the street were splitting apart like fractured puzzle pieces, dissolving into motes of dust and light.

In just a few breaths, the eerie village transformed into a desolate field.

Moonlight. Starlight. The chorus of insects.

“M-My lord…” Kavelin approached Lin Wei, her voice full of awe. The extraordinary power he had just displayed left her utterly shaken.

Everything that had happened tonight was too strange for Kavelin—she had never witnessed anything like it.

“Yes?” Lin Wei turned, knowing that this fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl had likely just survived the greatest terror of her life.

“Are we safe now?” Kavelin still clutched her cross-shaped sword, as if she hadn’t yet recovered from the recent danger.

Lin Wei straightened his somewhat disheveled clothes and nodded gently to her. “We’re safe for now. But once we reach the capital, we may face such danger again. Still, by then your task will be complete, and you won’t have to bear this risk.”

A bitter smile flickered on Kavelin’s face. “I’m afraid I won’t escape it so easily.”

“Why?” Lin Wei hadn’t expected that answer.

“Because…” Kavelin knit her slender brows, “I am the sixth princess of the Kingdom of Layton.”