Marla's expression was ugly, and also grave under her mask.
This was one of the worst possible situations. Celestial Maelstrom was just an adventurer group but had a very good reputation in the world, even among other races. And what was even worse was that her adversary was Stormborne, a very troubling foe for any Rank 4. It could even be said he was one of the strongest Rank 4s in the world.
The current situation was entirely unexpected. She had never expected to meet such a headstrong as well as troublesome person right in the extreme southern corner of the continent, where not even a talentless Apprentice Rank would visit.
'Just what has he come here for? Is Celestial Maelstrom related to that object? No… the chance is too low, and even if they were, they wouldn't reappear here.'
Whatever the reason was, she couldn't ask, as she was the one who was caught in a vile action.
She was certain that Stormborne had already noticed the casualties. She, anyway, had the intention to kill off the entire village, so she didn't really bother controlling her pressure over each age or health group, so invariably many people had died.
She was also internally furious. Not a single thing was working out properly in her favor ever since her arrival in the Silvia Kingdom, and now her current action, which clearly suggested that she was about to mass slaughter innocent mortals, was also right in front of Stormborne.
She was even having thoughts of killing him right here, but it was easier said than done.
'If only a Golden Elipseon were here in my place...' she thought with regret.
There was nothing she could respond with; Stormborne wasn't a fool, and any nonsense she spoke would only bring her and the Holy Palace more pointless infamy.
She and Arlo were originally supposed to go completely incognito during their mission within the Silvia Kingdom, just so there wouldn't be any open lead of the Holy Palace's involvement in what would be happening in this kingdom. Now it was completely ruined!
However, there was still a chance to reduce the unnecessary attention they would get, and that was all she could now bet on.
Ever since Stormborne's airship appeared, Marla had removed her pressure over Jarvis, and that gave him the air he desperately needed to breathe.
As he was taking quick gasps of air, he looked above and noticed another powerful individual had appeared with a flying ship.
His emotions were in turmoil.
Just what had everyone come here to his small town for?
He could only think and not dare to open his mouth. He kind of understood that the man with the feathered hat was someone, or the only one, who could now rescue his town.
Since he himself was merely a Rank 1, he could only be grateful and worshipful and not interfere with their conversation or actions, or else maybe even their rescuer might turn his back on them.
Marla had only put pressure on the entire town once, as it was not so simple to spread spiritual pressure over such a wide area. It was only possible because of her uniqueness as an Elipseon.
Despite not continuously putting equal pressure on the townsfolk, she had still put a slight pressure to make them not wake up and disturb her investigation. However, after Stormborne's arrival, she had also taken back that negligible pressure, and due to that, all the townsfolk were slowly starting to wake up.
The people who woke up started coughing and taking deep breaths; they still didn't know what had occurred. After recovering a little, they started waking the people nearby. They were still oblivious to what was happening in the sky.
While Marla stayed silent and didn't respond, Arlo spoke on her behalf. He snorted coldly and spoke with disdain, "Or else what? This has nothing to do with you; return to your adventuring, Stormborne, and don't interfere with the business of the Holy Palace!"
He was clearly informing him who they were, so Stormborne should understand 'clearly' and leave.
He did what he would normally do and also expected Stormborne to immediately leave without any further questions. He believed he was right, except he made one minor miscalculation.
Marla, who was already fuming internally, got even more incensed hearing Arlo's demand. He wasn't wrong, and this would have worked against most people; however, there were people in the world who had bones that could break, not bend, just like Stormborne, who was currently in front of them.
Stormborne narrowed his eyes at the 'child'. After a moment of silence, he soberly responded, "Then don't expect to leave this place intact."
He was not happy to see the Holy Palace within the Silvia Kingdom, especially when their royal palace and the entire kingdom were going through so much turmoil. If the events of a certain kingdom were to be recreated in this kingdom, then it would only end in a complete disaster, and his own mission would also likely fail.
"Are you threatening us? Does your Celestial Maelstrom no longer wish to exist in this world?" Arlo sneered and warned, "This is the final warning. We, the Holy Palace, will ignore your previous ridiculous statement. Leave and don't interfere with our business."
Marla was flabbergasted at Arlo's stupidity. He was merely an early-stage Rank 4, and he dared to speak with such rudeness toward a peak Rank 4?
Even if an Elipseon were far stronger against someone of the same rank, the distance between an early and peak stage was like many worlds apart; it was not a bridge that could be crossed, and Stormborne was also not the usual everyday peak Rank 4 either.
Marla quickly waved her hand to shut Arlo up and spoke with a smile, though her beautiful smile was completely crooked, "It was just a misunderstanding. How about we go our own way and no one gets hurt?"
Stormborne was already furious, not so much at the insult of the Bronze Elipseon, as in his eyes it was just a child babbling, but at the Silver Elipseon; and after hearing her response that it was just a mere 'misunderstanding', he snapped.
"Then take my 'misunderstanding' as well." He drew out his sword like a lightning bolt.
As Stormborne unsheathed his sword, it was as if all winds in the atmosphere were sucked into his sword and came out like a hurricane. It shot straight toward Marla with an unstoppable force.
Marla gritted her teeth tightly. She knew talking more was useless; she had to fight.
She crossed her hands in front of her to defend and took the blow head-on.
The force was so tremendous that she was thrown miles away, outside the range of Ringwood Town.
The entire sky brightened with the attack, yet no attack struck the town; Stormborne had made sure of that. Despite that, it still affected the townsfolk a little.
Many people in the streets who had just managed to stand were thrown back by the wind, though not with any strong momentum. They were just flung for a bit and hit a nearby structure or human and fell down without much injury.
After this, everyone realized that something was happening in the sky. So, they quickly raised their heads, and what they saw made them gape widely.
The entire sky was almost split in half, and it was a miles-long cut!
All the clouds were blown away on both sides as if someone had split the entire sky into two with a sword. A storm and powerful wind churned high above, pushing the clouds further away.
Townsfolk with gaping mouths wondered if the gods in heaven had suddenly started fighting, and that too right above their town.
Soon they noticed one unrecognizable figure 'charging', or rather flying, at tremendous speed toward the end of the cloud split.
People who were sharp immediately knew that something amazing was happening. They quickly dashed toward the rooftops of the tallest buildings near them to have a clear view of the gods' battle. No one bothered to check their injuries. The remaining ones also followed the others toward building rooftops or toward an open field to have a better view.
Stormborne hadn't actually targeted the clouds, as they were far below the cloud level; all the effects were due to the ferocity of his attack and his Wind Element.
Arlo wasn't directly targeted, yet he was still flung away since he was standing right beside Marla.
After coming to a stop far from his previous location, he started coughing up blood. He had received some internal injuries, though nothing serious.
He wasn't stupid and knew he wasn't a match for Stormborne; however, Marla was! Thus, he just needed to wait patiently until she overpowered him. Stormborne might not know the true extent of an Elipseon's power, so he would definitely die!
Stormborne had been on their Elipseon kill list for a long time, though he was not a top priority. Since he had appeared in this desolate place alone, they might as well kill him and his companions. This would further reduce any annoyances to their mission, as there was a chance that since he had appeared in this kingdom, he might also interfere with their plans.
Looking at Stormborne charging toward her, Marla knew that she couldn't keep playing defense and had to retaliate, or else she might lose a limb or two in this battle.
While still falling back, she raised her right fist high as if punching the sky.
Suddenly, the ground far beneath them trembled, and like an erupting volcano, it burst straight up toward the sky.
In no time, the ground flew nearly half a kilometer straight into the air as if a massive arm had grown out of it. The top portion turned into a giant fist and punched toward the charging Stormborne.
Stormborne didn't even glance at it. He executed a horizontal sweep with his sword, and the entire ground-element arm was sliced in half. It crumbled into large chunks of rock and mud and was blown away by the force of the attack.
While he sliced that arm, another similar gigantic fist, made out of solid rock and strengthened soil, rose from the ground and punched him from his right.
He leaped up in mid-air and dodged the punch, then landed on its wrist. He lightly struck the tip of his sword against the wrist, and a flash of wind passed through the entire gigantic arm. It was instantly sliced into large chunks of rock, which started crumbling down toward the ground.
He turned toward Marla, who had flown further back. Now, on both sides of her stood two huge arms with their fists pointing toward the sky, ready to intercept him. Both of these new arms were at least three times thicker than the previous ones.