"Do you know why this Grand Magus-level attack occurred?"

  An elder frowned as he asked, completely unaware of the situation. He had long lived in seclusion within Penney City, uninterested in worldly matters.

  At the time of the incident, he had been deep in meditation, oblivious to the fierce battle erupting in the city.

  Only when the devastating magical shockwave approached did he realize something was wrong, rushing to join the city's defenders in activating the magical barrier.

  "It was caused by that young man."

  Several pairs of eyes fixed on a bloodstained area on the ground. The speaker was a middle-aged Seventh-tier Archmage.

  The area they observed was where Ryan and Evelyn had stayed. Amid the completely destroyed land, only this small patch remained relatively intact, still holding faint traces of two magical auras.

  "Which young man?"

  An older Archmage with a white-streaked beard, whose magical rank reached Ninth-tier, asked in bewilderment.

  He had been in seclusion for years and was equally unaware of the recent disturbances in the city.

  "He is a young man wielding a legendary weapon," explained the middle-aged Archmage.

  "That boy, on his own, using the power of that legendary weapon, forced his way out of the city."

  "Even more peculiar, I could sense the world's fortune favoring him. I had considered seizing that fortune for myself, but then I reconsidered and gave up."

  "We all know, anyone blessed by the world's fortune is never a simple character."

  "If we fail to completely eliminate him, we only bring catastrophic disaster upon ourselves.

  We have lived in seclusion for many years. Thankfully, I did not break my vow this time, or the consequences would have been unimaginable."

  Upon hearing the middle-aged Archmage's account, everyone's faces were full of shock and dread.

  They never expected that a Grand Magus conflict capable of shaking two cities would have been triggered by a single young man.

  "By the way, where's that Tharok?!"

  An Archmage suddenly realized and turned toward the Snowmere City contingent.

  Tharok had been one of the key figures blocking Ryan and, by all logic, should have been here.

  "He's probably dead."

  Those who had ascended to Archmage were not foolish. Connecting the clues before and after, they quickly guessed the outcome.

  "What a foolhardy path to death! He sought his own demise, yet dragged both our cities into this disaster, the idiot!"

  Several elders could not restrain their curses, their voices thick with resentment.

  They had lived in seclusion for years, detached from worldly affairs, and now suffered heavy losses due to Tharok's reckless actions.

  The city's magical defenses had nearly collapsed. Rebuilding the city walls and restoring the magical infrastructure would consume enormous magical resources.

  All of these resources would have to be shared among their families and factions, otherwise the Sanctum of the Eternal Seers would hold them accountable, and no one could bear the consequences alone.

  "Let's go. Since nothing more is happening here, it's best we return quickly to discuss rebuilding the city walls and calming the populace.

  Otherwise, once word spreads, no one will dare settle in either of our cities again," an elder said. Without lingering further, he transformed his magic into a streak of light and flew off toward Snowmere City.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  The remaining Archmages exchanged glances and voiced no objections. They carefully scouted the ruins once more but found nothing of value.

  Grand Magus-level attacks were far too terrifying everything in the vicinity had been utterly obliterated, leaving not even a trace of residual energy, let alone any overlooked treasures.

  An elder Archmage of Eighth-tier let out a sigh. He had harbored a small hope of finding something valuable, but that hope was now completely dashed. Resigned, he turned and departed.

  As the last Archmage's figure vanished into the horizon, the battlefield fell silent once more.

  Night slowly descended, and the dead atmosphere cloaked the land. Only the wind whispered mournfully across the charred ruins, adding a profound sense of desolation.

  …

  "Evelyn!" Ryan's eyes were still bloodshot, his gaze reflecting lingering shock. Only when he felt the faint warmth from her body did his tense nerves relax slightly.

  "Dad," the little Drake, now in human form, said, her face pale from the lingering weakness of magical exhaustion.

  Yet she stubbornly remained at his side, her large eyes filled with concern for Ryan.

  "It's alright." Ryan raised his right hand and gently patted the Drake's head.

  He then retrieved a few vials of mana potion and some crystal stones infused with pure magic from his storage space, handing them to her so she could replenish her energy and recover from the strain.

  Though this incident had been triggered by the Drake, she had no awareness of it and had come of her own accord. She bore no blame.

  "But Evelyn, why did you chase after me?" Ryan's gaze fell back to the Drake in his arms.

  He looked at her tightly shut eyes and instinctively reached out, lightly brushing his fingertips over the blood-red cracks on her face.

  A piercing ache surged through his heart. Ryan felt as though his chest was being repeatedly pounded with a blunt instrument, the pain so intense he could barely breathe.

  He had once wished so desperately for Evelyn to vanish from this world, yet now, seeing her on the brink of death, he felt more anguish than anyone else could imagine.

  He glanced down at the Soulweaver's Pendant bound to Evelyn, the gentle green light still flowing steadily.

  Ryan first instructed the Drake to stay alert, watching for approaching beasts or enemies. Then he drank a vial of mana potion himself.

  He kept Evelyn lying across his legs to ensure she continued absorbing the Pendant's healing magic, then closed his eyes and focused on meditation, restoring both his magical power and his injuries.

  He needed to repair his lost left arm as quickly as possible. Thanks to the Mana Essence he had taken over the past few days, tiny flesh buds were already sprouting at the break.

  Ryan estimated that once the Mana Essence was nearly depleted, his left arm would be mostly restored.

  However, such top-tier resources could not be overused. Too much influx of magic in his current state could overwhelm him, worsening his injuries.

  In truth, he could have used his Origin Value for rapid recovery, but after the previous intense battles, his Origin Value had already been exhausted.

  Although he could convert the numerous magical resources in his storage bag into Origin Value, the amount required to fully restore his arm was enormous.

  In other words, using Origin Value for an instant recovery would quickly fix his arm, but it could consume all the resources in his entire storage bag.

  By contrast, relying on Mana Essence for a gradual recovery required only the Mana Essence itself.

  Ryan ultimately chose to trade time for resource conservation, which was undoubtedly the most efficient way to heal.

  There was no rush. After all, he was far from being at the end of his rope. In his previous incarnations, even with only one hand and one foot, he had managed to survive. Now, losing just one arm was, for him, merely a minor injury.

  Time passed quietly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the late night of the third day.

  The faint crackle of fire sounded especially clear in the silent darkness. A small campfire flickered, bringing a touch of warmth.

  The fire had naturally been made by the Drake, who possessed an innate fire magic talent, making creating fire effortless.

  At that moment, Ryan felt Evelyn, lying across his thigh, stir slightly. But in a short while, she became still again.

  Ryan immediately paused his absorption of the Mana Essence, gradually gathering his magic and ending his meditative healing.

  He opened his eyes and looked down, catching sight of Evelyn lifting her face, streaked with blood-red cracks, and quietly staring at him.

  Even severely injured, her eyes remained crystal clear, devoid of complicated emotions.

  She simply met Ryan's gaze, and no one could tell how long she had been watching him. Yet from his eyes, she understood they were safe.

  "Evelyn," Ryan no longer hid his feelings. Seeing her now out of mortal danger, he called her name.

  Evelyn's eyes widened slightly, her elegant brows lifting unconsciously, betraying a hint of surprise.

  But the surprise vanished almost immediately, replaced by an unbearable pain that made her relax her tense expression.

  This was the first time Evelyn had fully exerted the Grand Magus corpse's power.

  She had never imagined the consequences could be so severe. Previously, merely forcibly using the Frozen Crown Staff had left her weak and powerless for more than thirty days.

  This time, controlling the Grand Magus corpse was far more extreme.

  Now, though she possessed Fourth-tier Senior Mage magic, and the nature of the Grand Magus corpse's power was entirely different from the Frozen Crown Staff,

  the effect was not much less debilitating. What terrified her even more was the feeling that her arms were gone!

  No, her arms were still there!

  Evelyn's gaze flicked subtly. She then used the last of her weak magical energy to sense her body, finally confirming that both her arms were intact.