n

n

nThe group reached the entrance to the city, and Duke Whirlwind quickly struck up a conversation with the guards. It was like nothing was wrong.

nNot even the people in the group had noticed that Duke Whirlwind was very worried right now.

nThe only ones that noticed were Shang and the Dean.

nThe Dean stepped forward from the back and stopped close to Shang.

nAfter talking with the guards for a bit, Duke Whirlwind brought everyone into the city.

nWhen Shang entered the city, he could see a lot of Adepts and True Mages walking around.

nBut there were nearly no warriors present.

nThe only warriors were the guards.

nIt was almost like this was a city exclusively for Mages.

n“Academy for Lightning Mages,” the Dean said.

nShang looked at the Dean for a second, and the Dean lightly gestured to the west.

nShang looked over, and he could see a couple of taller towers. At first glance, they didn’t seem any different than normal towers, but if one looked closely, one could see the occasional spark of lightning travel over their surfaces.

n“Don’t get too caught up in the city,” Duke Whirlwind said with a smile to the group. “We’ll directly continue.”

nThe group only nodded, and everyone continued walking._-<

/sub>

nKeeping the Blessing of Wind active would be too noticeable, which was why Duke Whirlwind deactivated it.

nHowever, the group was still traveling with quite some speed.

nThey traveled for a couple of seconds before Duke Whirlwind interrupted their journey.

n“Oh, I must apologize,” Duke Whirlwind said. “I just remembered that I wanted to buy something in the bazaar. I hope you won’t mind a short detour.”

nThe group didn’t object, and Duke Whirlwind led everyone to the east.

nBy now, Shang had noticed something.

nShang wasn’t susceptible to Lightning Mana, but it was nearly impossible not to notice when vast quantities were moving in one direction.

nAnd, right now, all the Lightning Mana in the surroundings was violently pulled to the north, the place where they had just wanted to go to.

nThe group followed Duke Whirlwind to the east, and they arrived at the bazaar very quickly.

nDuke Whirlwind looked through a couple of stands and eventually purchased about 500 units of Commander Stage Lightning Ore for a ridiculous sum of money.

n“Alright, let’s continue,” Duke Whirlwind said with a smile as he led the group to the northeastern part of the town.

nBy now, Shang could feel that the Lightning Mana was being pulled to the south of him, which was the eastern part of the city, the place where they had just been.

nThe group made a detour and eventually saw the northern gate. _<

/sub>

nAt that moment, the Dean inconspicuously stepped in front of Shang, acting like he was striking up a conversation with Duke Whirlwind.

nAnd Shang?

nHis heart nearly stopped.

nThe source of Lightning Mana had suddenly vanished from the south and had reappeared at the northern gate.

nShang was mostly hidden by the Dean, but he could still see the Thunder Horse.

nIts back was only about two meters high, which was quite tall for a horse on Earth, but tiny for such a powerful beast in this world.

nIt was shining with a bright, white light, which almost seemed peaceful.

nBut that couldn’t be further from the truth.

nThe light it was emanating was an unreal amount of volatile and destructive Lightning Mana.

nThere was a long, white horn on its head, making it appear as majestic as an emperor.

nHowever, one thing surprised Shang above anything else.

nAs soon as the Thunder Horse had appeared, a couple of kids ran over in excitement and began to climb it.

nOthers were petting its legs with excitement. _<

/sub>

nLaughter quickly filled the surroundings.

nDuke Whirlwind realized that they couldn’t avoid the Thunder Horse.

nSo, he slowly approached with the group.

nThe warriors inside the group became extremely nervous.

nThis was a Zone Beast!

nIf that thing decided to attack them, they would be helpless.

nFrom the very beginning, the Thunder Horse wasn’t looking at the children. It was almost like the children didn’t exist to it.

nInstead, it was fully focused on Duke Whirlwind.

nThe group approached the Thunder Horse, and the warriors didn’t dare to breathe.

nDuke Whirlwind walked up to the Thunder Horse.

nAnd then, he put his hand gently onto its snout as he petted it.

n“Long time no see,” Duke Whirlwind said with a kind smile.

nThe Thunder Horse moved its snout to Duke Whirlwind’s face and sniffed a couple of times.

nThen, it looked over to the Dean with interest.

nThe Dean performed a small, polite bow without saying anything.

nShang was barely visible behind the Dean’s body.

n“You guys can continue,” Duke Whirlwind said with a laugh. “I will catch up with you shortly.”

n“Of course,” the Dean said with his neutral voice before he ushered everyone else forward.

nDuke Whirlwind kept talking to the Thunder Horse while petting its snout. He was telling it about some of the things he had seen since they last met several years ago.

nThe group slowly passed by the Thunder Horse, the Dean between the Thunder Horse and Shang.

nAnd then, the Thunder Horse ignored the Duke and turned to the Dean.

nThe group stopped.

nThey didn’t want to anger the Thunder Horse.

nThe Thunder Horse went closer to the Dean with its snout while sniffing. Occasionally, it even let out some snorts.

nShang felt like the snorts were aggressive.

nThe Dean only stopped and looked the Thunder Horse in the eyes.

nThe snout came closer and closer to the Dean.

nAnd then, it angled to the left and passed the Dean.

nAt that moment, the Thunder Horse lightly moved its head to the right, shoving the Dean several meters to the right.

nSilence.

nThe Thunder Horse was fully focusing on Shang.

nShang looked at the Thunder Horse.

nThe Thunder Horse’s head came closer, and it sniffed Shang’s face.

nAs time passed, the snorts became more numerous and violent.

nShang felt like he was looking death in the eyes.

nAnd then, the Thunder Horse let out one especially loud and powerful snort.

nThe road made of stone below the Thunder Horse’s head broke into pieces due to the snort’s power.

nAnd then…

nShang felt an unreal amount of Lightning Mana gather on the Thunder Horse’s body.

n