Chapter: 50. Breaking the Barrier!
The life of a big fish is either short or even shorter.
Though the time is brief, the weight of life cannot be underestimated.
“Seriously… what am I doing with them, really? Can this even work?”
The red dragon wings fully unfurled, spanning more than three meters from left to right.
The wings flapped, lifting Timani into the air, reaching a position just a few meters away from the sky magic array.
Here, it was already a hundred meters above ground.
Looking down from here, everyone waiting below looked as small as ants.
The temperature at high altitude was even lower, freezing the blocks of ice containing the big fish more solidly.
Timani lifted the large ice block in her left hand—glancing at the big fish inside, which had a face full of despair.
Perhaps its eyeball could still roll around, but all it mirrored back to Timani was her full face of disdain.
Alright.
Hurry up and fulfill your purpose as a fish.
Timani flew in a circular motion around the magic array, searching for a suitable angle, and then hurled the ice block forcefully into it!
What happened next…
Left the fire lizard, which was born lacking wisdom, wide-eyed in surprise.
The defense barrier, which couldn’t be cut through even by high-level flame magic and sword techniques, was pierced effortlessly by the ice block, sinking slowly as if it were stuck in a quagmire, until it disappeared from view.
The Third Princess of Alus, indeed has a sharp mind.
The strategy currently being executed was devised by her.
【Just borrowing your big fish for a moment.】
【I happened to observe earlier that the flying birds passing through the sky did not encounter any obstruction at the barrier. I went around to the back of the town to take a look… Oh? I wasn’t running away! I was really checking! Ahem, anyway, based on the speed of the birds flying in a straight line, the same bird appeared outside the town three minutes later.】
【This proves that the birds entered the barrier without obstruction and similarly left without any resistance. To them, this golden light seemed non-existent.】
【I’m wondering… could it be that this magic is designed for beings with vast magic power? Conversely, it might have little to no effect on beings with minuscule magic power, or it might be negligible?】
The current reality before them confirmed Livra’s thought.
The moment they waited for, when the ice block was fully submerged in the golden light.
Timani threw out a conspicuous curtain of flame in all directions.
This wasn’t the lead-up to an attack.
——It was signaling to those on the ground a hundred meters below.
The fish has been thrown in; act quickly!
Swell…
Swell…
Strange noises began to appear within the elliptical barrier.
Following this, subtle patterns started to shake within the enormous magic array above Timani’s head, as if the magic formation had encountered some unknown situation and was undergoing emergency repair.
It could adapt; it could repair itself.
But all of this depended on time.
The initial noises had occurred; the abnormality was destined to be faster than the array’s adaptive speed!
——Boom!!
As if a balloon was instantly filled by flowing water, the previously deflated elliptical barrier suddenly swelled to its limit, and the swelling sound rang out like the barrier itself was crying out in agony!
If viewed from a distance, the shape of the entire barrier transformed into the silhouette of a big fish.
Spanning hundreds of meters, it merely covered a golden light that hid the big fish inside.
Even if this fish expanded, it would merely be a larger version of an ordinary fish, after all, it lacked the genes of a magical fish.
Timani quickly flew backward to avoid being affected by the barrier, and finally a curve formed at the corner of her mouth.
It was indeed effective.
【Teacher Shaya said my Word Spirit Technique can control the state of living beings, so… I want to try if I can do it again, I will expand the size of the big fish thrown into the barrier to its limit in an instant.】
【We already saw the barrier’s self-repair just now; it is elastic. When extended to its limit, it becomes its most fragile state. Hmm? Evidence…? I don’t have concrete evidence, but I feel like it’s just like the balloon my mother gave me when I was little. When not inflated, no matter how you trample on it, you can’t break it; even a needle can only make a small hole. But once it’s fully inflated, a needle prick will shatter it into pieces!】
【I can’t achieve that level with my own magic capacity, so Miss Xialet, please lend me a bit of magic! No need for much, just a little to support the big fish’s transformation for a few seconds!】
You really managed to think of this…
The Third Princess’s speculation had been realized.
Now what needed to be done couldn’t rely solely on intellect.
“Xialet!! Move!”
Without waiting for any response from the ground, Timani’s eyes turned into bright scarlet vertical pupils, her arms spread wide as she disregarded her lack of control over magic.
After all, this attack had to unleash her full strength; it didn’t matter if it went awry.
—Before her was all golden light; it couldn’t go wrong!
“Princess Xue Fei, just wait and see… When I get back, you owe me an apology; I’m not just coasting along doing nothing!”
【Fire Domain: Great Eruption】
A large magic array, no less than the range of the sky array, formed behind Timani, followed by a cataclysmic assault of wind and fire!
At this moment, Timani was like a proud giant dragon lurking in a volcano.
Flames swirling more fiercely than a volcanic eruption engulfed the upper half of the barrier, directed towards the sky—no matter if it shattered the barrier, it wouldn’t harm the half-covered town inside.
At the same time.
In the lower half of the barrier, the display was equally dazzling.
【Thousand Twists and Turns】
Even golden light has distinctions.
Under countless flashing sword lights intertwining, cracks were continuously carved into the barrier, overlapping densely.
Everything’s endurance has its limits.
The “balloon” exploded.
Bang————!
Facing the rising sun, at this moment of complete dawn.
The sky magic array shattered completely, the thousands of meters of golden light dissipating and collapsing.
Timani exhaled a breath of scorching air, flicking her sleeves high in the air, discarding the remaining embers and the scattered magic crystals from the barrier.
Phew…
The barrier is broken.
So, is the mission complete?
It’s hard to tell, as the strong sense of accomplishment from breaking the barrier made one temporarily forget the original mission’s target.
——Rescue Princess Ailer.
But… where is she?
Timani furrowed her brow, looking down at the ground, also scanning the sky.
The little town had returned to its original appearance, without a single brick or tile damaged.
And no matter where she looked or sensed, there was no trace of Ailer.
Was she not here from the beginning… or did she leave the moment the barrier shattered?
Timani wouldn’t miss any details. After all, that enlarged version of the big fish, having lost the supply of magic, reverted to its original size just before landing. Timani’s dynamic vision could easily catch sight of the position of such a small fish.
Confirming that there was indeed no trace of Ailer, she adjusted her posture to dive down and return to the ground to regroup with everyone.
Livra was lying there, using the sheath of the holy sword as a pillow, hands clasped in front of her, her face pale and twisted in a tragic smile; she must have collapsed again.
“What happened to her?”
“Still the symptoms of magic deficiency, similar to last time.” Xiya took out the magic-restorative potion she carried and handed it to Livra, making her drink it before she lost consciousness. “She can’t handle too much magic from Miss Xialet; most of it is still supplied by Princess Livra herself. However, thanks to Miss Xialet, Princess’s condition is much better than last time.”
Gugong, Gugong!
Livra felt dizzy, clutching the life-saving magic potion and swaying wildly.
Ugh, I truly don’t know how people used to survive without magic potion. This feeling of magical deficiency really feels like death could come at any moment!
“What about the Princess?” Xiya took the empty potion from Livra’s hand, glancing around to ask.
“Didn’t see anyone. You asking like this means you didn’t find her either? However, this guy is still alive and has a strong will to live!”
The flopping big fish was being held by Timani by its tail.
Against all odds, the big fish was also quite thrilled!
“Looks like we can have braised fish tonight.” Before Xialet could jump out from the holy sword to snatch the fish, Timani quietly stored the big fish away.
!
What’s the point of a big fish staying alive? To experience its so-called rebirth?
Xiya didn’t want to think about what to eat at the moment.
She just felt… uneasy without confirming the results of the mission.
“I’m not sure if the Princess is safe… So did we technically complete the mission? Or did we fail?”
“We broke the barrier; we’ve done all we could. That Ailer was acting like a lunatic; we can’t control where she runs off to.”
“That’s true. The immediate priority is to regroup with Xue Fei and the others.”
“Got it, but right now, I’m actually curious about something…”
Timani crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking down at Livra, whose face was full of bitter smiles, as if she might ascend to heaven at any moment.
“Princess Livra, that skill of yours is the Word Spirit Technique, right? What did you say to the fish to make it suddenly grow so big?”
“I just said one sentence…” Livra was surprisingly weak.
“What was it?”
“I said, ‘You are not a fish.'”
“What do you mean, not a fish?”
“You are a whale.”
“……”
“Ugh… my head hurts… I can’t take it anymore… I need to sleep…”
“Hey, hang in there! According to my wilderness survival experience, sleeping alone in the icy cold could lead to death.”
“Am I alone?! Can’t you two just help me a bit?! Ugh… I really can’t anymore; I’m done for.”
Youth is indeed a blessing.
She said she’d faint, and just like that, she did.
