Earth's Greatest Magus

On the other side of the compound, at the southern gate, similar worries were also shared by a half-blood grand magus. There was gloom in the figure's eyes as he raised his head, staring at the approaching elf fleet.

"They came much faster than expected." The Wolf bloodline Patriarch scowled. Turning his gaze away, he approached Emery and grabbed the unconscious Altus from his back before slowly setting the supreme being down to the ground.

Immediately, the patriarch checked the former headmaster's condition. Silence enveloped the area for a while as the man focused, while Emery said nothing. With his proficiency in the metal element, Lucius was able to break the chains on Altus' body and dissipate the power of the glowing runes.

"Master... it's Lucius... I came to save you. Can you hear me…?"

Seeing the closed eyes and no response from the man, Lucius became emotional even though he tried to hold it in. Clenching his fists so hard that the nails dug into his palms, his eyes burning with hatred.

"Don't worry, Master. I will make sure those wretched elves pay for what they did to you."

While the wolf patriarch was reorganizing his thoughts, two small figures came out from the ground. It was Twik and one of the Chizpur plants that Emery brought along for the mission.

"Ku. Ku… Kuang"

They had returned by Emery's orders since the mission was concluded and they were about to escape. As for the other three, they were still on their way back.

Right then, the wolf patriarch stood up and said, "We can't wait any longer. We must leave now."

Hearing those words, Emery did not agree right away. After putting the two plant creatures into his Spatial Space, he turned to look behind him, in the direction of the compound. The concerned look on his face clearly showed what he thought about the other three Chizpur and his friends.

"But patriarch… My friends… they…"

Lucius glanced at him, before pointing his finger at the construct looming in the sky in a casual manner, "That is a Battle Star class. Something that can't be dealt with even if Delbrand and I were working together."

Looking at the young wolf of his pack in the eye, Lucius continued, "Returning there would only get you killed. We only have at most a few minutes before they come for us. Grab my master, we are leaving now."

Even though Emery felt a sharp ache stabbing in his chest, once again he decided to heed the alpha of his pack. Putting the unconscious man on his back again, he followed the latter and walked towards the gate.

After they passed through the gate barrier, Emery was about to activate the vest he was wearing when the patriarch suddenly stopped him. Facing the confused gaze, the man said, "No, we are not going to leave with that. Instead we will go 300 miles in that direction. My ship is over there."

With those words, Lucius expected Emery to open up a spatial gate towards the direction he just said. Before the latter could do what was asked, a figure was seen rushing towards them, which made Emery stop what he was doing.

The figure Magus Xion, who had just finished recovering after the fight with the magus. Hearing about his plan, the man quickly asked,

"Senior, what are you doing? Where are you taking them?"

Even though they were in a hurry, Lucius knew he wouldn't be allowed to leave easily seeing the look on the magus' face. He inwardly heaved a sigh before giving a brief answer to the man.

"The cargo ship they're using is a very conspicuous target, especially after what happened here. There's no way I'm going to risk my master's safety, so we'll sneak out of this place another way."

It was of course a reasonable explanation. However, Xion still couldn't believe the man's words.

"With all due respect senior, I may not have been in the briefing, but I know this wasn't part of the plan. Senior, please stick to the plan!"

As if he had expected such a reaction, Lucius once again heaved a sigh. He then turned to Xion and said, "You have been very helpful, Xion, but you can return to the ship now. There's no need for you to follow us."

Those words, however, only served to make Xion even more anxious. Knowing the wolf patriarch was hell-bent on his plan, he quickly tried to contact Headmaster Delbrand through the communication device given. Unfortunately, there was no response from the other side.

Seeing Xion's persistence on the matter, a frown appeared on Lucius's forehead as he sternly said, "Enough! We don't have time to waste like this! You go do what you want, but we are leaving!"

"Senior, STOP!" Even though he was pressured by the patriarch's aura, with a very serious expression on his face, Xion said, "You may take Headmaster Altus with you, but please leave Emery here with me."

Hearing that, a chuckle escaped Lucius' mouth. "Ah, so that's what this is all about."

The truth was, Xion had realized Emery was under the wolf patriarch's influence, hence the reason for his strange behavior and odd choices. For that reason, he was unwilling to let Emery leave with the man. At least not like this.

He then spoke to Emery. Even though it might be in vain, he still tried to free his disciple.

"Emery, what about your friends? I know you came here for them. Aren't you worried about them right now?"

Unfortunately, there was no reply from Emery. He just kept silent, unable to say his thoughts out loud.

"There is no use, Xion. You are just wasting your time. Now if you–"

"Please let Emery go, Senior." Xion interrupted, causing another frown on the patriarch's face. "Let him decide what he wants to do."

Those words were still unable to make Emery act. However, it was able to regain him some control, allowing access to the other three plant creatures to see where their friends were at the moment.

To his surprise, from the eyes of one of them who was still in the vicinity of the compound, he saw a glowing ship bursting out of the gate.

Emery was glad to see the group managed to get out. However, his happiness didn't last long, because a second later he saw dozens of triangular elf ships chasing after it. His heart tightened at the sight of the glowing ship being bombarded by the elves.

Multiple metal figures were seen jumping at the approaching elven ships, only to be blown apart in the air. He could also see many people he knew on board, fighting the elves off fiercely for their lives.

The scene created intense emotion within him, so much that his body trembled as he cried out.

"Patriarch… let me help my friend, please"

The resistance Emery displayed was clearly felt by the wolf patriarch, much to his surprise. To think that the young wolf would be able to resist his command that was supported by the power of bloodline.

This, however, only made Lucius want to keep Emery even more.

"Xion, he is a very talented youth. But he's also still very young. He doesn't know what's best for him. I do." With a smile, he said, "You can forget about him, I will take care of him from now on, I will be his master"

"No! I will not let you do that!" Xion was ready to do anything, even going as far as drawing his sword and face a grand magus such as him.

"Are you really going to make trouble here!? Really?! I can feel that the elves are coming this way already."

Unmoved in his thoughts, Xion calmly said, "Then you should leave now, Senior, leave Emery here... Don't worry. If we really can't do anything, we will immediately leave this planet."

When he heard that, Lucius approached Emery, "You indeed have a good and kindhearted master, Emery."

His next words however came as a surprise. "Unfortunately, this kind of master only makes you weak.. Today, I will do you a favor."

He then turned towards Xion and spoke casually. "First lesson for you, as a wolf, you need to be merciless"

As soon as those words echoed through the air, Lucius' figure disappeared. In that split second, the dark blade in Xion's hand shattered into pieces and blood splattered in the air.

Emery's eyes bulged in shock when he saw the patriarch's claws had made a hole in his master's chest.

A sight that he might not be able to forget for his entire life. To add further devastation to his heart, Emery could only scream inside himself, deprived of the ability to grieve outwardly. He couldn't even scream, let alone help.

Pulling out his claws which made the magus' body fall, Lucius turned around and nonchalantly said, "It's done. Now let's go!"