[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-return-of-the-legendary-runesmith":3,"chapter-return-of-the-legendary-runesmith-return-of-the-legendary-runesmith-chapter-172":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Return of the Legendary Runesmith",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1562497,2026,"Chapter 172 - 171- It would be fun","return-of-the-legendary-runesmith-chapter-172",172,"\u003Cp>\"M-Ma’am...\" Elizabeth’s voice trembled as she slowly turned toward Ariana.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ariana glanced at her, eyes steady. \"What is it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"C-Can you not send me back...?\" the girl asked through tears, her voice barely above a whisper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rose held her gently by the shoulder, guiding her toward the carriage that would take her to the teleportation center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ariana was set to accompany her—she’d explain everything to the headmaster of Aegis Academy. That was the protocol. That was the law.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she hadn’t expected this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The proud and fiery Elizabeth the Great... bowing her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Proving the fact that there could be no worse punishment for her than humiliation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I committed a horrible crime,\" she said, voice shaking. \"So punish me. But please... don’t send me back.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her words made Rose’s heart ache.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Ariana didn’t flinch. Her voice was calm, but firm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’ve committed a crime that I can’t pass judgment on,\" she said. \"It’s not in my hands. Your headmaster and your nation’s council will decide your punishment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It pained her to say it. Even if she wanted to punish the girl, her hands were tied. Elizabeth was a student of Aegis Academy. Ariana couldn’t do anything here—not when the laws were so clear. What Adrian did could be defended as self-preservation, but Elizabeth’s actions had consequences that extended beyond personal choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I... I didn’t know Sylvie was inside...\" Elizabeth murmured, the tears not stopping. Her body trembled, lips barely moving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t believe that damaging his property would lead to something like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If only Ruby hadn’t appeared, Elizabeth knew that Adrian wouldn’t have been able to prove that it was Elizabeth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But everything went against her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now, she was being sent back...just on the second day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rose gently nudged her forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They resumed walking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But just as they neared the entrance—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bump\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elizabeth stumbled back, hitting something invisible. She gasped in shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ariana’s eyes narrowed as she followed the glow surrounding the entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A barrier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rose quickly pulled Elizabeth back as Ariana stepped forward, her hand reaching out toward the invisible wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bliunk\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her palm met something fluid—like pressing against a layer of water. It rippled faintly, but didn’t give way. The more force she applied, the stronger the resistance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ariana’s expression darkened. This wasn’t a normal barrier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Rose,\" she said sharply, \"take her inside. Warn the students in the gym—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOOOOOM\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A massive explosion erupted near the entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>None of them had time to respond to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shockwave threw them back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Agh!\" Elizabeth cried out as she crashed into a broken slab of pavement, her breath knocked out of her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rose hit the ground hard, groaning, her front partially scorched by the blast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ariana landed on one knee, her shirt singed and torn, smoke rising from the burn marks. But the armor beneath had taken the brunt of it—her skin remained intact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She rose slowly, eyes glowing with tension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoever did this... wasn’t here for negotiations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Headmistress!\" someone shouted from inside the school building.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ariana snapped her head around. Through the window of the male dormitory, she saw one of the instructors pounding against the glass in panic. But every time his fist struck, a ripple of blue light pulsed back—the same barrier that had blocked them earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She turned quickly, scanning the rest of the grounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The female dorms were the same. Instructors and staff are trapped behind glowing walls. Isolated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her jaw tightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This was planned... down to the last detail,\" she muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only she, Rose, and the two instructors likely stationed in the gym were left free.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Am I being praised?\" a smooth voice rang from above. \"Feel free to say it to my face.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ariana turned her gaze upward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Descending slowly from the sky was a strange figure, arms stretched out like a performer soaking in applause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A magician’s tall cap sat crookedly on his head, black round glasses framing sharp eyes. His build was slim, almost sickly, and tendrils of mana curled around him like playful smoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked absurdly relaxed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It took seventy hours of constant focus to construct these barriers,\" he said, as if giving a casual lecture. \"So naturally, they’ll last seventy minutes. Fair exchange, wouldn’t you say?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He smiled widely—as if victory had already been written.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ariana’s hands clenched at her sides as she stepped forward, her aura flaring. Her gaze locked onto him, filled with fury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do you want?\" she growled, voice low and dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the second time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second time someone dared to bring war to her academy. Second time, she failed to see it coming and allowed the Acolytes to arrange the battlefield as they wanted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And she would not forgive it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My purpose? It’s simple—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"AHHHHH!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"GUHHH!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Screams echoed from the outer courtyard. The cries of soldiers were quickly drowned out by the sickening crunch of bones as monsters tore through them, stomping and slashing without mercy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Acolyte whipped his head toward the noise, then turned back to Ariana with a bright, unsettling smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"—I’m here to murder people.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ariana scoffed, unshaken. \"And how do you plan to do that when you’ve trapped most of them behind your third-rate barrier?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ouch... that stings, dear,\" he said, clutching his chest in mock pain. \"But those weaklings?\" He lazily pointed to the dormitory buildings. \"They were never part of the plan.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then his finger slowly turned in the other direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Toward the gym.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Toward the transfer students.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My focus,\" he said with a grin, \"is on them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ariana’s eyes widened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gym.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shit—!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a blur of motion, she vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She reappeared moments later, lifting Elizabeth in one arm and Rose in the other, then dashed toward the gym like a streak of light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind her, the Acolyte chuckled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Phahaha~ Such an energetic woman,\" he mused, licking his lips with excitement. \"Well... hunting wouldn’t be any fun without a little chase.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>°°°°°°°°°\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A\u002FN:- Thanks for reading. This arc...will be short but I will try to make it interesting..\u003C\u002Fp>",1004,"2026-06-06T07:53:02.436Z",1,"novelbin.me","e0b9d82c5b48984837779fa22e6beb0ca4a0bbaa824a392760cffffedc977440","return-of-the-legendary-runesmith-chapter-173","return-of-the-legendary-runesmith-chapter-171",595,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Freturn-of-the-legendary-runesmith-cover.jpg"]