Cloud Thinking

Chapter 339 Master and Disciple

After defeating three groups of people, Helia realized something was wrong.

She lowered her eyes to stare at the hand holding the sickle, feeling the weapon grow heavier and her movements slower, as if she were enveloped in an invisible slime that was gradually hindering her actions.

She channeled her magic, and the scythe burst into flames as she swung it sharply in an attempt to sever the restraints.

I initially thought it was some kind of control magic like the Herris family's, with invisible threads wrapped around my body.

But the flames, though they pierced the rainy night, failed to dispel the thick layer of moisture surrounding them.

She was like someone trapped in a swamp; the more she struggled, the tighter the restraints became.

what happened?

Helia suspected that the magic circle beneath her feet was the culprit, so she took out a small vial of divine blood from her waist and smashed it on the ground, attempting to forcefully break the circle.

The magic circle was still operating, which made Helia realize the seriousness of the situation, and she frowned.

Someone of equal strength to Jurassus has intervened.

She quickly considered which powerful figure might be behind it.

Surely it couldn't be the patriarch of the Herris family himself who came, could it?

Colin has yet to appear, and Helia doesn't know if he's watching from the shadows or being held back by the people she's arranged in advance.

Elder Bolton, give it your all...

But one thing is certain: even without Colin, the assassination was still carried out in an orderly manner, indicating that there was another organizer in the group—someone she knew nothing about.

They came in secret, probably with murderous intent from the very beginning.

This person is likely a weapon specifically designed to kill her, and is most likely a water-attribute mage, which is perfect for countering her fire element.

Tonight, the torrential rain is enough to give her a real headache; the omnipresent water element is enough to make her suffer.

After dealing with the last batch of cannon fodder, Helia still had most of her magic left, but the water had reached above her ankles, and the stiffness in her body made it difficult to even lift her arms or legs.

She followed the direction of the magic flow, walking step by step toward the tower, trying to find the key to the formation.

The splashes of water as they walked sounded particularly jarring in the silence.

Her bright red hair shone like flames even in the darkness, making her an easy target.

In the deep darkness of the night, all sorts of hidden weapons attacked from different directions, but they were all blocked by the light golden barrier flowing around her—the treasure given to her by Yorifu was indeed very useful.

We arrived safely at the small door of the tower.

Judging from the attack pattern so far, the enemy doesn't seem to care that she's getting close to the tower, suggesting that there might not be a key point inside, or...

They only felt comfortable letting her approach because there was not only the key point of the formation but also an even bigger trap.

Helia didn't care and kicked him hard.

The wooden door, unable to withstand the impact, detached from its frame and fell inwards with a loud crash within the empty tower.

The moment Helia saw the scene inside, her pupils constricted, and she rushed inside without hesitation—

"teacher!!!"

She lunged at the man bound to the stone pillar; it was Mobius.

The old man's eyes were closed, and his breathing was steady, as if he were fast asleep.

After quickly checking and confirming that the teacher was not injured, she breathed a sigh of relief.

With a snap of his fingers, flames ignited, burning through the binding ropes.

Supporting the old man, she cautiously looked around, unable to fathom the intentions of the person behind the scenes.

If they could kidnap Mobius, it means they had the ability to kill him.

But instead of doing that, they tied him up here...

Clearly, Mobius was bait to lure her in.

But what's the point of luring her here? She should be even more difficult to deal with after she reunites with the teacher.

unless……

Helia raised her arm defensively, but a burning bone blade pierced through the barrier and plunged into her arm, heading straight for her heart!

Mobius, who should have been asleep, "woke up" and launched a surprise attack on her.

His eyes remained closed, yet his movements were incredibly swift.

Helia endured the excruciating pain and wanted to kick him, but remembering that he was her teacher, she only pushed him away and retreated to the wall, enduring the secondary damage from the bone blade being pulled away.

Blood gushed out, and the wound, which should have healed quickly, continued to worsen. Besides the flames, there was something else on the bone blade—most likely poison.

She had no time to tend to her wounds; instead, she was met with a massive fireball thrown by her teacher—a spell that her teacher had personally taught her, yet now it was being used on her.

She couldn't bring herself to hurt Mobius, so she could only try to dodge, cursing Colin's despicable behavior in her heart.

He truly is a despicable person; only he would resort to such underhanded tactics.

She didn't let Yuros take Mobius away for two reasons: first, because her teacher, as the strongest fire mage on the continent, had the ability to protect herself; and second, because Mobius didn't want to hide behind his student.

But clearly, the teacher couldn't prevent the sneak attack.

He had no obvious injuries, indicating that he had not fought with the enemy... So how was he controlled?

When it comes to control, Helia can't help but think of the Heris family and the gold threads they use to control people.

Thinking of this, she summoned her flaming scythe and smeared the blood that wouldn't stop flowing from her arm onto the blade.

The flames from the blade instantly surged, illuminating the entire tower.

She swung her scythe at the air around Mobius, trying to sever the invisible threads, but felt no resistance.

This convinced her that it wasn't a tactic of the Herris family, but rather another form of control.

What could it be? How could such a powerful person as a teacher be controlled?

Moreover, she had repeatedly reminded Colin that he might be up to something, and the teacher would definitely be on high alert... How did the enemy succeed?

Is there a mole within the academy?

Facing the strongest fire mage on the continent, Helia was in a truly sorry state.

She had genuinely wanted to see what it looked like when her teacher went all out, but the old man always refused, saying it was "too powerful."

I never imagined that the first time I saw it, it would be used on myself!

What a sin!

Inside the tower, flames danced wildly as if they were alive.

Mobius's lips moved rapidly as he chanted obscure incantations, his wand movements revealing an incongruous stiffness.

Fire elements in the air gathered wildly, coalescing into nine fire dragons that spiraled towards Helia.

This is a top-tier fire magic created by the teacher. She begged Mobius to teach it to her after much pleading, and she even used it in a team competition. It's definitely a killing spell.

However, she was still learning the basic version; Mobius held back and didn't teach her everything—to prevent her from using magic for slaughter if she had malicious intentions.

Now, she has finally witnessed the power of this move firsthand.

Helia dared not be negligent. She drew an arc with her scythe in front of her, and a blazing fire barrier instantly formed. This was a magic spell that Britney had taught her back then, a spell that could withstand ancient magic.

Nine fire dragons crashed into the protective wall, unleashing a deafening roar.

Helia was thrown back several steps by the impact, and cracks appeared in the protective barrier.

She held the scythe horizontally in front of her chest to block, her eyes fixed on Mobius, capturing his every move, her lips moving rapidly as she chanted incantations.

Countless sparks erupted from her body, shooting towards Möbius like meteors.

Each spark contains explosive energy, which detonates instantly upon contact with an object.

Mobius waved his hand expressionlessly, and a wall of fire rose up, blocking all the sparks.

His movements were terrifyingly precise, yet he kept his eyes closed the entire time.

Helia gritted her teeth, and the scythe ignited with blazing flames once more.

A massive whirlwind of fire rapidly formed around her, and raging fire elements swept through the entire interior of the tower.

This was a killing move she created by combining what her teacher taught her with her own understanding, but to unleash such a powerful spell in a sealed tower would undoubtedly result in a thousand injuries to the enemy and eight hundred injuries to herself.

The high temperature instantly evaporated the moisture in the air, turning the entire tower into a scorching sauna.

The stone bricks on the wall began to turn red and hot, making it difficult to even breathe.

Helia fought and retreated, but the confined space was not conducive to her performance and made it easier for her to accidentally injure others.

However, before she could rush out of the tower, Mobius, who was not far away, took a step forward and pressed down with one hand.

A colossal statue of a fire god materialized behind him, radiating a terrifying and suffocating aura.

Helia's fiery whirlwind was as insignificant as a child's toy in front of this statue.

The fiery colossus slowly raised its hand and slammed it down—

Helia tried her best to defend herself, but was still blasted away by the attack.

She crashed through the thick stone wall, flying out of the tower along with the shattered bricks, tumbling several times on the muddy ground before finally coming to a stop.

Blood kept oozing from the corner of her mouth. She felt as if her internal organs had shifted, stars were flashing before her eyes, and her head was buzzing.

Rainwater filled her mouth and nose, causing her to cough violently.

The tower was blasted open by the blow, leaving the entire building teetering on the brink of collapse.

The surrounding buildings were also affected, with tiles flying and walls cracking.

This is the power of the strongest fire mage on the continent.

The usually unassuming and gentle old man possessed such devastating power when he truly unleashed his abilities.

Helia lay in the mud, gazing at the dilapidated tower, and for the first time truly experienced the hidden strength of her teacher.

Rainwater soaked her cheeks, mixing with blood as it flowed down her neck.

She struggled to sit up and looked at the tall figure at the gap in the tower.

Flames surrounded him, making him appear as if a god had descended to earth.

As Helia watched the teacher approach step by step, the figure in her vision began to sway and double, and her eyelids became so heavy that she almost closed them.

A strong wave of drowsiness washed over her, making it almost impossible for her to get up.

She initially thought it was a sign of impending unconsciousness due to severe injuries, but the scalding blood in her body and the persistent pain from her wounds pounded on her nerves like a giant hammer, forcing her to stay awake.

not right...

She keenly sensed something was wrong, and bent her fingers to plunge them into the laceration on her arm, trying to use the excruciating pain to dispel her drowsiness.

But my drowsiness didn't lessen at all, which was very unusual.

The thought that someone wanted to put her to sleep flashed through her mind like lightning.

She forced herself to widen her eyes, even reaching out to pull her lower eyelids open to prevent them from closing.

Only then did she notice that the teacher's eyes remained tightly closed, yet the magic he cast was incredibly precise in striking her.

Is it...

Was he not being manipulated, but truly asleep? Fighting entirely on his subconscious?

If the enemy controls the teacher through dreams, then it is indeed impossible to defend against—after all, everyone needs to sleep.

The teacher was old and his body could not withstand the fatigue brought on by long periods of vigilance. Out of caution, he would not sleep for long, but he still needed to take a short rest to maintain his energy. This was how the enemy seized the opportunity.

Now, that person has trapped her in the tower using her teacher as bait and is trying to control her.

No, it's not control; more accurately, it's hypnosis.

The enemy only tells the teacher in a dream that there is danger and that he needs to fight, rather than directly controlling his body to fight.

Therefore, the most urgent task, and the way to break the deadlock, is to awaken the teachers!

Helia spat out the blood and foam from her mouth, struggled to her feet, and fled in a disheveled state, dragging her aching body, shouting as she ran:

"You old geezer! You've used so many hair growth tonics and still can't grow any hair because I sneak into your room every night and pluck out all the new downy hair!"

"I took the money you hid in the vase too! Senior Weikais said you drink heavily whenever you have money, so we decided to steal the money for your health!"

"At least five of your projects have been stalled, and it's all because of me and Senior Weikais! We know you go out drinking when you don't have any projects!"

"The flowers on the windowsill died because Weikes overwatered them! He even lied to you, saying you were sleepwalking and used magic to burn them!"

"The fish in the academy's fishpond died overnight because Britney and I lost control while practicing dehydration magic! The magical traces we accidentally left were mistaken for yours by other teachers! At that time, the whole academy was saying that you were mentally unstable! Nobody dared to go out at night, afraid that you would beat them to death!"

"besides......"

What was originally a serious master-disciple duel instantly turned into Helia's confession session.

She revealed all the bad things she had done during her time at the academy, each one enough to make the old man furious and want to punch this rebellious student to death.

Helia, unsure if Mobius could hear her, shouted at the top of her lungs.

She wanted to punch him a couple of times to wake him up, but the teacher, who was at full power, made it impossible for her to get close.

Is this the strongest fire mage on the entire continent? The difference in strength is not small at all!

She felt that the teacher was so low-key that everyone underestimated him!

This combat power is so great that it would be considered a war machine no matter where it is placed!

It's a pity that their high offense and low defense allowed others to exploit their weaknesses!

She even suspected that the person behind the scenes simply left the hypnotist here because they knew how terrifying the unconscious attacker, Mobius, was and dared not show themselves.

Mobius still shows no signs of waking up.

The provocation tactic failed, and Helia's movements were restricted, not only because of her injury, but also because of that strange sense of sluggishness.

Fortunately, the stiffness also affected the teacher, and his movements became much more rigid than at the beginning.

The enemy never gave up on hypnotizing her, so she had to keep tearing at her wounds to stay awake, but excessive blood loss would also cause her to fall into a coma, and this couldn't go on.

Teachers need to be given stronger stimulation.

With a change of mind, Helia stopped dodging and instead stepped forward to meet Mobius's attack.

She dodged the ranged magic and kept closing the distance until they were only an arm's length apart.

Helia grabbed Mobius's shoulder and leaned forward, letting his bone blade pierce her abdomen.

The sound of the blade piercing flesh was sickening.

She spat a mouthful of blood onto Mobius's face, then collapsed heavily, causing the bone blade to pierce even deeper.

"Teacher... I'm sorry... I... I couldn't protect you..."

A choked voice rang in Möbius's ears, so familiar yet so strange.

The voice belonged to someone he knew all too well, but it was precisely because of this familiarity that he felt a sense of estrangement from the content of the words.

He rarely heard Helia apologize.

This unruly little devil is always shameless in front of him, and joking around is the norm. Even when he makes a mistake and is punished, he will only give a half-hearted apology when pushed to the limit.

He was used to Helia's noisy and carefree manner, but he couldn't stand her clingy, coquettish way of speaking her true feelings—he felt embarrassed and didn't want the students to see him looking ashamed.

But at this moment, compared to those infuriating words before, so noisy and irritating in their content, this whisper was far more impactful.

When Mobius slowly opened his eyes and saw Helia lying on top of him in a disheveled state, and felt the unusually warm and sticky sensation in his hands, his heart almost stopped.

"Helia!!!"