Chapter 157: Ray Piercing the Heart

"Do you understand the situation?"

Lei En's expression suddenly darkened; the Mo Du aristocrats moved faster than he had imagined—just after leaving Longshande, they had already sent someone to find him.

He stared at the shapeshifting wizard who called himself Pajite, his gaze turning dangerous, and asked coldly, "What if I don't understand the situation?"

Pajite's mouth twitched upward, he took a sip of his wine, and smiled, "Earl, you should have heard the stories of the previous Earls of Glamorgan."

"Sixty years ago, the previous Earl of Glamorgan was a legendary wizard; because he failed to grasp the situation, he ended up gravely wounded and dead."

"Your talent is impressive, but can you match a legendary wizard?"

Lei En remained expressionless and gave no reply.

Pajite thought his words had frightened him, and continued, "I don't know why the Silver Star Duke chose you, but let me kindly remind you that this is not a matter a youngster from a small town is qualified to meddle in, and Mo Du is certainly not a place you can provoke."

"Titles and fiefs are indeed enticing; everyone wants them, but when you lose your life, what do those things matter to you?"

"Earl, we come with sincerity," Pajite said, a hint of earnestness appearing on his proud face.

"You?"

Lei En seemed intrigued, "Tell me about your sincerity."

"First, you must not set foot in Mo Du even once," Pajite listed the conditions, staring at Lei En, "Second, return to Longshande immediately and report to the Silver Star Duke; we are willing to raise the annual allocated tax to seven hundred thousand Gold Shield."

Upon hearing the second condition, Lei En understood at once; the Mo Du aristocrats were still unaware, as this was actually being pushed behind the scenes by Master Anxiwodasi.

In their view, the reason for appointing a new Earl of Glamorgan was that the Silver Star Duke wanted to extort.

An annual tax increase of two hundred thousand Gold Shield was indeed a hefty sum.

Lei En was unmoved and asked, "Since you are willing to pay more tax, why not negotiate with the Silver Star Duke yourself?"

"The Duke refuses to meet," Pajite said, somewhat angry, yet he dared not speak disrespectfully to a Holy Soul Wizard.

Clearly, he thought the Silver Star Duke was too greedy and dissatisfied with the amount.

"If Your Excellency the Earl can persuade the Silver Star Duke to agree, once the matter is settled we can give you a substantial gratuity that will certainly satisfy you."

Pajite extended his palm, flipped his hand over, and made the gesture for "ten."

"One million Gold Shield?" Lei En asked eagerly.

Pajite nearly choked on his drink, internally despising the rustic, sky‑ignorant, pretty‑face‑relying, luck‑struck commoner, and dryly explained, "Lord Earl, you are quite the joker; I meant one hundred thousand Gold Shield."

Lei En clicked his tongue, as if finding one hundred thousand Gold Shield too little.

He thought for a moment, then said regretfully, "The Duke will not listen to me; sorry, I cannot do it."

Pajite saw that this Earl of Glamorgan had already wavered, a person of weak character, and decided to press further, saying harshly, "If you want to stay alive, you must do it. I don't care how you achieve it; that's your problem."

Lei En looked troubled, then his eyes lit up: "I've got it!"

"What?" Pajite was pleased inside.

"I cannot solve the problem, but I can deal with the one who raised it," Lei En's expression hardened, and he said gravely, "I hate it most when others threaten me!"

As he spoke, a rainbow‑colored beam erupted from his fingertips.

Whoosh!

Rainbow light blossomed on the terrace, catching Pajite off guard; he had never expected Lei En to strike at him.

Earlier intelligence indicated that this Earl of Glamorgan had become a transcendent for only half a year, a rare prodigy, his profession a battle wizard, likely rank two to three, and his strength far surpassed that of peers.

Even so, Pajite paid it no mind.

What threat could a mere third‑rank battle wizard pose to a high‑rank shapeshifting wizard?

The rainbow beam struck him; Pajite's shield passively activated, blocking the spell just in time. Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, Lei En took a stride forward, seeming ready for close combat.

"Seeking your own death."

"I originally didn't want to kill you, to give the Silver Star Duke some face; this is because you forced me."

Pajite sneered inwardly as his body swelled like an inflating balloon, hair sprouting over his skin, his hands and feet turning into massive claws; in an instant he transformed into a colossal bear weighing tens of thousands of pounds, standing over five meters tall—a terrifying behemoth.

High‑rank Earth Brown Bear!

The moment the transformation finished, the giant bear lunged forward, swinging a stone‑mill‑like paw; brown light shimmered on its body, a manifestation of gathered earth element.

Boom!

The bear's paw struck the ground, causing the entire terrace to tremble.

"Where are the people?" a hint of confusion flashed in the Earth Brown Bear's eyes.

Before the thought could settle, a sharp pain surged in the paw; he realized his right fore‑paw had been sliced by a sword, cutting deep into the bone, nearly severing the entire paw.

He roared wildly, sweeping a circle on the spot, forcing Lei En back onto the terrace edge, where he saw Lei En gripping a splendid short sword.

"What kind of sword can pierce my earth armor!"

Pajite turned pale with horror.

The Earth Brown Bear is a rare high‑rank magical beast; it not only has affinity with earth element and masters multiple earth spells, but also possesses terrifying power up to fifth level, with its greatest strength being defense.

Its thick fur, muscle, and innate earth armor constitute a fourth‑tier spell, harder than a high‑rank steel knight's, resistant to blades, and can ignore most third‑tier and lower spells.

Pajite spent nearly his entire fortune and countless effort to obtain this magical soul.

Now, he can't even block a short sword…

No blood flowed from the bear's paw, because it wasn't a true body but formed of soul energy, able to repair quickly yet consuming massive soul power.

Pajite repaired the wound as the giant bear stood up like a man, let out a loud roar, then slammed both paws down forcefully.

A thunderous boom.

The terrace shook, dust billowed, and the nearby guests finally reacted, fleeing in terror.

However, the spell "Mass Earth Spike Technique" that Pajite expected never manifested.

His mind swirled, soul power trembling incessantly, as if he had lost his sense of earth element; when he saw Lei En's rune book, he instantly understood that his spell had been cut off.

"Spell Counter!"

"To think you can counter even such a fast spell?" Pajite exclaimed in astonishment.

Spell counter is only a second‑ring technique; the vast majority of casters can grasp it, but it is easy to learn and hard to perfect, and few can apply it in battle.

The principle of this spell is that at the instant the target successfully casts, their soul‑energy drives elemental energy, and one creates an impact with one's own soul‑energy.

The impact need not be strong; a slight interference can break the spell.

The difficulty lies in timing.

If the counter is early, the target's soul‑energy has not yet driven the energy, so it has no effect; if it is late, the spell has already formed and is useless.

It must be perfectly timed, exquisite to the finest point, countered within an extremely brief instant.

This is a time shorter than a blink.

Each caster's different spells have varying casting times, unknown to outsiders; sometimes even the caster cannot consistently gauge them, making countering extremely difficult.

Moreover, spell counter itself requires casting time; one's own casting and the target's must align precisely, the moment of completion synchronized without the slightest error, or the counter fails.

The faster a spell is cast, the harder it is to counter.

Earth Spike Technique is the Earth Brown Bear's innate core spell, capable of instant activation; even the fourth‑ring group Earth Spike Technique takes less than a second to complete.

Yet this time the spell was countered.

Pa Ji Te was a bit skeptical, thinking Lei En was just lucky; he stood up and slammed the ground again, creating a large crater, but the spell still did not form.

"It's not luck; he really can counter my spell."

"I could kill you without a spell."

The Earth Brown Bear let out a roar, its limbs sprinting, the massive body charging at Lei En.

Whoosh!

Lei En remained unafraid and likewise launched a charge.

The two were within arm's reach; the large and small silhouettes collided head‑on, and in the instant of impact, Lei En's Song of Azure Sky seized the chance to thrust into the giant bear's head, piercing deeply.

With a bang, the massive Earth Brown Bear was flung backward at an even greater speed, falling off the balcony.

A wound that pierced deep into its brain gaped atop its head; it thrashed in painful frenzy, trampling the castle gardener's meticulously tended lawn in just a few rolls.

Overwhelmed by pain, Pa Ji Te's transformation passively ended, revealing his true form.

His reaction was lightning‑fast; while Lei En was still on the balcony, he transformed again, becoming a wholly black, swift Shadow Panther that slipped into the shadows.

At this point, Pa Ji Te was already terrified.

He finally understood why the Silver Star Title: Duke had ennobled Lei En as the Earl of Glamorgan.

This combat Wizard's power was unfathomable; not only were his casting skills superb, his strength terrifying, even surpassing the Earth Brown Bear, causing him a great loss.

The stealthy Shadow Panther sprinted toward the cliff edge; he now only wanted to flee and report back.

Whoosh!

A rainbow‑like ray burst again, striking the Shadow Panther in the shadows with perfect aim.

"Aaa…" the Shadow Panther let out a wail; its defense was far weaker than the Earth Brown Bear's, and in this form it could not employ Earth Armor, so the ray pierced through instantly.

Even worse, it triggered the burning effect of the Rainbow Ray.

A blue‑purple flame spread from the wound; the arcane fire, like a festering ulcer, forced the Shadow Panther out of its concealment, scorching its skin open.

Enduring the burning pain, the Shadow Panther used its momentum to break through the railing and leap off the cliff.

In mid‑air, Pa Ji Te ended his transformation, shedding the burning effect.

He turned back toward Lei En, hatred and fear flashing in his eyes, and shouted angrily, "Ignorant low‑born, you're doomed! Whether you entered Mo Du or not, you're doomed!"

At the same time, his body swiftly transformed into a massive thunderbird with a six‑to‑seven‑meter wingspan.

The thunderbird beat its wings, lightning swirling between its feathers, about to take flight.

Flashing to the cliff edge, Lei En held the Song of Azure Sky, raised the Rainbow Ray to third‑ring, the arm‑thick beam cutting across the heavens.

Poof!

The thunderbird was blasted in the head by the ray, its transformation vanished, reverting to a robed Wizard who fell from mid‑air.

The Wizard's face was full of terror; he did not understand why Lei En's Rainbow Ray suddenly surged in power, its range extending by a great distance.

Below the cliff lay the surface of Dong Ting Hu; he decided to escape underwater, his body swiftly turning into a slender, armored giant fish with a fierce visage and a sharp single horn on its head.

However, the transformation was only halfway when the Rainbow Ray struck again.

The colorful light flashed and vanished, illuminating the night sky.

A fist‑sized hole appeared in the Wizard's chest, through which one could see his back; his heart vanished completely, and before he could fall into the water he became a corpse.

(End of Chapter)