Genius, Genius 2

" you... you don't want me anymore?" Darlis asked, her voice trembling with a sob, her eyes red and swollen, and her face full of shock.

"My darling, how could I ever not want you? Quickly pack your things, we're going with the Golden Magician to the Magician's Grand Guild. Leave behind anything unnecessary." Ryan kissed Darlis on the lips before answering.

Darlis didn't have much to pack. Alice greeted Tori, and though Alice had originally not wanted to go to the Magician's Grand Guild, seeing the state of Ryan and Darlis made her feel uneasy. When she heard that the Golden Magician would be accompanying them, Alice no longer hesitated, left a few words behind, and followed Ryan. Tori was thrilled because Ryan had told him and Treckel they could come to the Magician's Grand Guild to meet them, so now Tori was eager to see how the lord would react.

"Hey, Ryan, could you show us some magic?" After a long pause, the old man remembered to ask Ryan to demonstrate his magical abilities.

"Of course." Ryan noticed the old man wasn't acting overly formal, so he raised two fingers. A fireball appeared on one hand, and a pale blue wind blade formed on the other. Ryan glanced around and decided it wasn't a good idea to perform magic on the street, even though there were only a few people around. He quickly dissipated the fireball and wind blade.

"Hiss." The old man and the two others gasped in shock. The old man felt a chill run down his spine as he stared at Ryan. Realizing he had lost his composure, he turned away, muttering to himself. The other two nearly stumbled, exchanged a look, and then shook their heads with a wry smile.

One of the five, a Silver Wind Mage, cast a levitation spell on them, so they were out of the city in just a few minutes. Then, Ryan said something that left everyone stunned.

Ryan looked at a bird in front of them that was at least 15 meters long and 7 to 8 meters tall, resembling a great white egret, and exclaimed, "What a huge bird! Where did it come from?"

To his surprise, the bird responded, "You're the bird, your whole family is birds!" Ryan froze in shock, leaving Darlis and Alice equally stunned.

Finally, Ryan remembered this was a rare magical beast known as the Wind Egret. It was not only extremely fast and hard to catch but also highly intelligent. By level 7, it could already speak human language. Ryan was convinced and decided to pretend he didn't know this. He confidently mounted the Wind Egret, followed by Alice, Darlis, and Tori. The two women each grabbed one of Ryan's arms, and as they looked at the shrinking Harry City below, Ryan realized that revealing his wind blade earlier was a strategic move to elevate his status and attract attention. Otherwise, he would have to endure a slow climb within the Magician's Guild in the Luya Province.

While flying, the Wind Egret naturally created a shield around them, blocking the wind. As time passed, Ryan noticed the towering mountains below them slowly growing smaller, eventually giving way to vast plains, lush and green. There were many people working below, and the occasional city could be seen in the distance. Ryan had initially wanted to find Niu Niu before leaving, but he discovered that Niu Niu had returned to the pet space. Instead, he relayed to Tori that Niu Niu was in the space and asked him to bring Xiao Qing to the Magician's Grand Guild. Tori was thrilled, and Ryan could easily guess why—a Level 5 Wind Wolf was leading the way, and it seemed only the bravest would dare to obstruct their path.

Meanwhile, the lord of Harry City was in a good mood that day. He had just dealt with his wife's maid the night before, so he had stayed up a little longer. When he woke up, it was already noon. After drinking a glass of milk, he instructed the kitchen to prepare some aphrodisiacs, looking forward to another night of passion with the maid. The thought of her moaning excited him.

"My lord, my lord, something's wrong!" The butler, looking pale and frantic, barged into the lord's study.

The lord frowned in displeasure and asked, "What's going on? Didn't you knock?"

"My lord, it's terrible. A Golden Mage from the Magician's Grand Guild came to pick up a magician here," the butler said, breathless.

The lord jumped up with excitement. "Where? Quickly, prepare a generous gift, and let's go meet them!"

"My lord, it's too late. They've already left. It seems a magician here was attacked by bandits, and the Golden Mage came in response," the butler finished, finally catching his breath.

The lord stood stunned, his face flushing red and white with emotion. After a long pause, he shouted, "Quickly, prepare 5,000 gold coins, go ask Lord Toya what happened, and gather all the troops. Damn the bandits!"

"My lord, I've inquired further. It seems the Magician's Grand Guild has already pressured the Thieves' Guild. Additionally, two Sky Knights from Ruishi City have already set off to the scene, accompanied by two mages and their followers," the butler reported.

"Sky Knights? Aren't they Level 7 knights? With mages and their followers? Good heavens! Which damn bandit gang is this? They could wipe out a whole city!" The lord muttered to himself.

The butler, observing the lord, timidly asked, "My lord, should we prepare some supplies for these distinguished guests?"

"Yes, hurry up! Bring out the best goods from the warehouse, and send some to the imperial capital as well!" the lord shouted, then slumped back in his chair. Thanks to the squad leader's secrecy, the lord was in for a huge financial loss this time.

"Lord Toris, aren't we going to Rishi City?" Ryan felt his arm being shaken, and saw Alice giving him a look. Ryan walked over and timidly asked the old man, who was known as Toris, though no one dared ask his full name.

Toris glanced at Ryan and his two companions, shook his head, and answered, "No need to go. Too much trouble with all the meetings. Anyway, Rishi City is just two hours away from Alliance City."

Ryan was stunned. The world was vast. He realized they had already been flying for over an hour, and the speed was almost like that of an airplane. Since Ruishi Duchy was close to the direct jurisdiction of Alliance City, leaving Ruishi's borders meant they were already in Alliance City territory. It would take about three more hours to reach their destination. Ryan estimated that the Wind Egret's speed was faster than a plane. He definitely felt it was quicker than flying by commercial aircraft.

"Boss, we're done for, we're done for." Scarface looked up at the two flying figures in the sky, surrounded by soldiers and archers below. Any one of them could wipe out the twenty or so bandits he had. The soldiers on the ground all had battle qi, and the ones in the sky were the legendary Sky Knights. When Scarface realized Ryan and the others had escaped, he knew it was over. He immediately led his men back to the village, but what they saw there stunned them. The bodies were frozen solid. For the first time, Scarface felt fear, and without a second thought, he fled. His horse collapsed, but they were still pursued.

"We surrender! I'll tell you who's behind all this!" Scarface quickly dropped his weapon and shouted, but the only response he got was a barrage of arrows, followed by the sounds of his men falling. To his surprise, Scarface found himself still alive.