Wizard: My magic facility can be upgraded!

Chapter 325 The Vanguard Attacks

Chapter 325 The Vanguard Attacks

He had noticed Olivia's change long ago. The once lazy, sleepy, and inexplicably confident red dragon girl now seemed to be shrouded in a faint gloom. Although she trained extremely hard, she had lost her former confidence.

Olivia's body stiffened noticeably behind him. After a long while, she leaned against Li Ang's back and said in a muffled, somewhat indistinct voice, "Captain—I'm a little scared."

She paused, as if organizing her thoughts: "I used to think that we dragons were the most powerful creatures in the world. I was born without having to work hard, and I already surpassed most wizards. Moreover, I have a long lifespan. When I was in the tower, although there were others stronger than me, I always felt that as long as I grew older, I would naturally become very powerful."

"But—after being taken back to the Holy Mountain, I realized—I am nothing."

Her voice lowered: "There are too many of my kind who are stronger than me. Not to mention adult dragons, many of my kind who are younger than me possess power that surpasses mine."

"It makes me feel—so insignificant." Olivia's voice trembled slightly. "And, in this world—there are many things far more powerful than dragons. That End," even an ancient and powerful being like the Ancestral Dragon couldn't contend with it—

Can we really win?

Li Ang listened quietly, feeling the subtle tremor behind him. He could understand this feeling. Olivia had been thrown from a relatively closed environment where she thought she was at the top into a much larger and more cruel one, seeing countless beings far beyond herself and the all-encompassing shadow of the apocalypse. This disparity and fear was enough to shake anyone's will.

"So," Li Ang began slowly, his voice steady and powerful, "you want to regain your place and confidence by facing these more powerful things," or even defeating them, to prove that you are not insignificant, right?"

Olivia was silent for a moment, then shook her head and nodded slightly.

"I—I don't know." Her voice was full of confusion. "I just don't want to—be like I was on the Holy Mountain, unable to do anything, just watching helplessly, or waiting to be arranged. I don't want to—feel so powerless again."

Li Ang's lips curled slightly upward, his tone gentle yet firm: "Great Red Dragon, Miss Olivia."

Hearing this title that she used to say often but was now ashamed to utter, Olivia subconsciously raised her head.

"In my eyes, you have never been insignificant." Li Ang's voice traveled through the wind to Olivia's ears.

"Remember when the Dark Witches attacked Lyrita? Facing that terrifying bone dragon, who fearlessly charged forward, fighting it with their dragon breath and claws, buying us precious time?"

"That—that's because Captain, you were there—" Olivia whispered.

"No," Li Ang shook his head and continued, "It's because of your determination to protect everyone. The Bone Dragon was much stronger than you were back then, but you didn't back down. That courage has nothing to do with the size of your strength; you've never lacked courage."

Hearing Li Ang's words, Olivia was stunned, and the arms around him loosened slightly.

"As for the end—" Li Ang's voice grew solemn, "it is indeed terrifying. But it is precisely because it is terrifying that we all need to unite, face it, and fight against it."

"One person's strength may be limited, but when we are together—" Li Ang continued, his voice filled with a reassuring power.

"Nothing is impossible. We defeated the Dark Witch together, and we overcame the obstacles of the Holy Mountain together."

This time, it's the same.

The wind continued to howl in her ears, but Olivia felt as if these words had quietly warmed and soothed a cold, huddled corner of her heart.

She pressed her face closer to his back and softly hummed in agreement.

After a moment, she added softly, "Captain. That time, 'we' defeated the Bone Dragon together."

Li Ang smiled: "Yes, it's us together."

Olivia chuckled softly, as if the long-standing gloom in her heart had been blown away by the biting wind high in the sky.

She still fears the end and still feels inadequate, but at least—she is not alone in facing these challenges; she has companions to fight alongside her and whom she can trust.

Just then, Li Ang suddenly manipulated the broom, lowering it slightly, and sharply turned his gaze to a hilly area below.

Something's up.

Olivia immediately became alert and followed Li Ang's gaze.

Thick smoke was rising from the location of a village below, and some huge black figures could be vaguely seen either hovering in the air or wreaking havoc on the ground.

The tooth-grinding "humming" sound, like the vibration of countless carapaces rubbing together, could be faintly heard even at high altitudes.

"It's a swarm of insects! They're attacking the village!" Olivia's vertical pupils contracted instantly.

Li Ang's eyes turned cold: "Hold on tight, let's get down!"

The broom suddenly turned, like a hawk hunting its prey, swooping down towards the village billowing with thick smoke. As the altitude rapidly decreased, the view below became increasingly clear.

It was a monster that looked like a giant beetle, generally two to three meters long, covered with a thick, shiny, metallic-looking carapace. Its head had a pair of huge mouthparts that looked like scissors, and its compound eyes were a strange blood red. Its back had two pairs of translucent membranous wings that emitted a piercing buzzing sound when vibrating at high speed.

They are attacking the village frantically. Some are tearing apart wooden houses with their sharp forelimbs, some are spitting corrosive acid, and many more are chasing and biting the panicked villagers who are fleeing.

The village was in ruins, with severed limbs and broken bodies scattered everywhere. Desperate cries and the hissing of insects intertwined to create a hellish symphony.

Soon, Li Ang's gaze locked onto a giant insect that was lunging at a woman who was slumped on the ground, holding a baby in her arms. He waved his magic wand.

[Storm Sword]!

A massive, pale blue sword blade, formed from highly compressed, raging wind elements, slashed down through the air as if it were a tangible object!

"laugh-!"

The sword blade grazed the giant insect with precision, and time seemed to stand still for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, the giant insect's seemingly indestructible black carapace, like butter cut by a hot knife, slowly shifted and slid down along a smooth diagonal line, spurting out viscous green fluid. The enormous insect corpse crashed to the ground, splitting in two.

The woman who had narrowly escaped death stared blankly at the suddenly dead insect corpse before her, then looked up at Li Ang, who was descending from the sky in his black robes fluttering in the wind. She seemed to see a god who would save everything, and cried out with tears streaming down her face, "Witch... Wizard! Save us!"

Please—my daughter, my daughter is still inside!