"You!"
Olivia was captivated by Richard’s strike that managed to cut through her Aether.
Of course, it was because she hadn’t used too much Aether.
However, this success showed that Richard’s elements possessed incredibly high quality.
Moreover, his sword enhanced the destructive power of his fire and lightning.
In truth, Olivia wasn’t the only one who had returned to Apple Town to prepare another strategy.
For instance, Gray and Laura had also come back.
When they saw the sudden burst of bright light, they leaped onto a tall rooftop to see, spotting Olivia trying to suppress Richard while Richard resisted with his sword.
"Isn’t that the boy?" Laura was stunned, remembering that Richard was the child she had once kidnapped for Gray.
"This boy is actually so strong," Gray muttered, more focused on Richard’s strength.
"Olivia wants to capture him, unless he is a descendant of the Dragon Knight Clan," Laura added.
Gray’s eyes gleamed at those words.
Whoosh!
He leaped toward Richard and Olivia without saying anything.
Even the city lord, Liam, and an old man with a thick beard—the Headmaster of Apple Town Academy—were watching.
They did not hesitate to run toward the scene as they reached the same conclusion as Laura.
Seeing more people arrive, Richard gave a wry smile, realizing he wouldn’t escape easily unless he used the same trick as last time: releasing a massive amount of clouds before diving underground.
However, with his identity now exposed, that might only delay the problem briefly.
Olivia’s expression soured as she saw the others approach.
She thought this would be her victory, but who would have thought Richard could truly fight back against her?
"Wait, everyone, I’m not a descendant of the Dragon Knight Clan..." Richard spoke up.
"Boy, don’t lie. You already deceived me once, and you also tricked a merchant," Olivia retorted, apparently aware of Richard’s scheme against that merchant.
This meant she had never truly left Apple Town.
"I can prove it. Just take me there," Richard replied.
He figured it was better to prove this than to let more trouble arise.
Hearing that he could prove it, people hesitated.
Richard didn’t wait for them to respond—he stepped forward first, waving his hand, looking as though he was commanding them to follow.
And they really did follow him.
’I guess that dragon head noticed me earlier when I wore the Phantom Cloak. It shouldn’t speak again,’ he thought, hoping that would be the case.
If not, at best, he would only cause more chaos.
Returning to the previous location, Richard found many Magi, all clearly adults. He was the only one so young.
His arrival, accompanied by Apple Town’s top Magi, naturally drew attention.
At first it confused them, but word spread quickly, and soon they understood.
"Isn’t that Richard, the one who shocked us a few days ago?" someone wondered.
"It should be. There can’t be more than one Magus this young," another replied.
"Is he really that young? He looks about the same age as my son."
"I’m not sure either, but his physique and aura are definitely very young."
Meanwhile, Richard breathed a sigh of relief when the dragon head no longer looked at him. Its eyes no longer appeared alive as before.
"Should I go in there?" Richard asked Olivia.
Of course, he still had to pretend to not quite understand.
"Yes!" the woman replied with a rather cold tone.
Her mood clearly wasn’t very good now.
Richard snorted at her before stepping forward.
He tried entering the dragon’s mouth.
BANG!
A terrifying force suddenly blasted him hard, sending him flying and crashing into a massive tree.
His vision blurred instantly. He even fell, struggling to stand as his head spun.
It felt as though a giant hammer had just smashed into his skull.
The others froze at the sight, their mouths hanging open.
"The backlash is so strong," someone said.
"I think we’ve been too harsh on a boy. Even if he’s a genius who reached the Aether Will Realm, he shouldn’t be accustomed to such painful blows yet."
"Hey, this was Olivia’s idea. I didn’t do anything."
"..."
Richard needed some time to steady his vision.
He had done this to prove he wasn’t a descendant of the Dragon Knight Clan, but the result was too harsh on him.
He had nearly been severely injured because of it.
Olivia was clearly lucky to have extraordinary movement abilities, and her Realm allowed her to respond quickly.
It wasn’t that Richard couldn’t handle it, but given his Realm, the counterattack from the dragon head was simply too fast for him to react in time.
Richard cast a resentful look at Olivia, while the woman only furrowed her brows in deep thought—clearly not feeling the slightest bit guilty.
Richard kept his complaint to himself for now, but he wouldn’t forget it.
The people began discussing how to open this secret place, eventually agreeing that they needed to find a descendant of the Dragon Knight Clan.
Their only question was whether such a clan still existed.
The Dragon Knight wasn’t from the previous era. Although not from a distant age, it had still been more than a thousand years since his time.
Even so, they were quite certain that if the clan existed, it would be in Apple Town or nearby.
Perhaps, in the past, the Dragon Knight had indeed established a clan in this region, which was why he left a secret place here.
For the people, the problem was simply their lack of ability to track someone from a specific clan. Updates are released by novelFirｅ.net
"Olivia, isn’t one of the keys to activating this secret place in your possession? Where did you obtain it?" Liam, the city lord, questioned Olivia.
The other key had been brought by Laura from another province. But that wasn’t strange—a relic could easily change hands if its finder sold it.
Liam’s question made everyone turn their gaze toward Olivia.
But she only sneered.
"What can you do if I don’t tell you?" she retorted.
After that, she glanced at Richard, who was quietly slipping away.
Richard felt her gaze and thought, ’She’s still suspicious of me. This cunning woman must have plenty of speculations.’
"Mm..." Richard suddenly came up with an idea for revenge.