Chapter 31: Summoning Magical Beasts

“Water Blade! Go!” Rod, who had just reacted, heard the angry shout of the female mage.
In an instant, a giant sword made of water elements appeared before her. With her shout, the water sword seemed to gain a life of its own and rushed toward Rod.
With a howling sound and immense force, Rod frowned slightly upon seeing the water sword and quickly dodged to the side.
“Hmph, trying to escape?” The female mage smirked disdainfully as she controlled the water sword and watched Rod’s movements.
Suddenly, Rod felt the howling sound again behind him. He turned around in time to see that the water sword was attacking him once more.
“Damn it, more ‘missile attacks’?” Rod muttered angrily, frustrated and unwilling to give up.
Not daring to be careless, he rushed forward, this time aiming straight at the annoying female mage. Rod knew he had to get close to her as soon as possible and not give her any chance, otherwise the battle would only get more complicated.
However, good intentions didn’t match reality! Plans couldn’t keep up with changes. Under the female mage’s control, the water sword pursued Rod like it had eyes, getting closer and closer, almost touching him.
The scene became highly dramatic: on one side, Jem and the others were trapped by water magic, unable to move; on the other, Rod was chased around by a water sword, screaming and cursing. This sight made Roger, who was watching, laugh heartily.
“This won’t work!” Feeling the cool breeze and howling sound from behind, Rod thought angrily. Escaping wasn’t a solution. In fact, it seemed that the more he dodged, the further he drifted away from the female mage.
“Bastard! You little bitch! If you’ve got guts, fight me head-on! What kind of skill is this?” In desperation, Rod shouted angrily. In his panic, he seemed to forget that his opponent was a fragile mage.
Hearing Rod’s words, everyone in the area fell silent for a moment. Soon, aside from laughter, there were also looks of disdain.

Would other mages fight head-on with a warrior like you without using magic? Would they engage in hand-to-hand combat? That would be stupid.
“Damn it, I’ll fight you to the death!” Seeing the water blade about to strike him, Rod shouted frantically.
With bloodshot eyes, he turned angrily, clenched his fists, and threw a punch at the magical attack at the fastest speed possible.
“Boss… no, that’s an advanced… magic…” Seeing this, Jim, still trapped by the water binding spell, shouted loudly. Before he could finish speaking, Rod had already cast his spell—clearly ignoring his warnings.
Even though it was just an advanced water magic, it still couldn’t be confronted head-on. After all, Rod was still only an intermediate warrior, and moreover, unarmed.
In the shortest time possible, Rod gathered all his fighting spirit and concentrated it in his fist. With a howling momentum, he threw the punch, and the two collided instantly.
“Boom…” A deep sound echoed. Jim’s cry came too late. The moment his words faded, Rod’s punch had already struck the water blade.
“Cough, cough, cough…” Splashes of water flew as Rod was thrown back several steps by the immense force. His entire body was drenched, turning him into a drowned rat. The power of that water blade seemed beyond his imagination.
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Rod didn’t bother to catch his breath. He pushed off the ground and rushed at the female mage. Now was the best chance to get close—otherwise, it would be harder later!
“You idiots, what are you waiting for? Hurry up!” Glancing at the others who were still standing there after being freed, Rod shouted loudly.
Hearing Rod’s voice, Jim and the others quickly snapped out of their shock and rushed toward the female mage.
It wasn’t really their fault for being stunned—after all, Rod’s actions earlier had been utterly unexpected. It seemed this guy could always bring surprises and astonishment to others. Just like that punch—even advanced warriors might not be able to land one like that.
“Kiro, what are you doing? Let me go! Damn it, can’t you see Alice is in danger?”

At the same time, on the other side, Anderson, who was eager to take action after seeing this situation, suddenly felt his shoulder grabbed and unable to move. Turning around, he saw Kiro standing there calmly, unfazed at all, prompting him to shout loudly.
“You know Alice’s temper!” Kiro said calmly, looking ahead.
Hearing Kiro’s words, Anderson seemed to remember something, his fiery temper vanishing instantly. He turned to look at Alice, who remained calm in the face of danger.
“A mage? I’ll turn you into nothing but dust right away!” As he neared the female mage, Rod’s lips curled into an excited smile. It seemed he could already see his plan succeed.
“Watch this punch!” Raising his fist, Rod swung at the female mage without the slightest trace of mercy.
The entire area was enveloped in an eerie atmosphere. Jim and the others were dealing with the guards trying to rescue the female mage, while Rod’s fist was about to strike Alice. Yet she showed no reaction, standing calmly, her hands moving faster and faster. Everyone held their breath, staring in shock.
“…contract! Flaming Leopard, I command you by my name to appear immediately and destroy this enemy!” Just as Rod’s fist was about to hit the female mage, her incantation suddenly grew louder. With the last word spoken, the situation changed drastically.
The space seemed to warp, a gust of wind blew, dust flew everywhere, and suddenly, a roar emerged from the sky as if from nowhere.
“Not good!” Rod thought to himself, then swung again at the mage. The scene and the mage’s incantation seemed to indicate the formation of a new spell. He didn’t know its power, but Rod wasn’t willing to miss this chance! His eyes blurred from the dust, but relying on his last sense, he threw a punch at his target.
“Boom…” A dull sound came, without the expected screams or soft texture. Instead, it felt solid, furry, and warm.
“Hm? What’s going on?” Feeling something wet in his hand, and with the noise around him seemingly disappearing, Rod murmured to himself.

He slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was a pattern of reddish-yellow stripes. At first glance, Rod was stunned, but then, as if realizing something, he focused his gaze more intently.
Cough, cough… After seeing clearly what was happening, Rod almost choked on his own saliva. He swallowed hard and slowly withdrew his hand, revealing a pained smile. Now he understood why the entire area had been so quiet earlier! It turned out he hadn’t fought a female mage but a magical beast summoned by her spell!
Standing in front of him was a leopard about half human height, its reddish-yellow stripes giving it a fierce appearance. It was breathing heavily, and its warm breath could be clearly felt. At that moment, it stared at him with wide eyes, filled with confusion.
“A Flaming Leopard!” Rod muttered in shock upon seeing the magical beast summoned by Alice.
He wasn’t as ignorant as Rod—A Flaming Leopard, a fire-type magical beast. One of the top-tier Royal-class magical beasts. Besides possessing fire magic attacks, it also had abnormally high physical resistance, a beast that many mages dreamed of possessing! Perhaps only someone like Alice, with her connections, could obtain such a beast.
“A Royal-class magical beast! Heh, as expected. That punch thrown by that kid, Knight Rod, must be on par with that of a high-level warrior. Yet this first-stage Flaming Leopard managed to withstand it?” Anderson scratched his head after watching from afar and said with a wry smile.
“Mm, it grows quickly. I didn’t expect it to advance from infancy to adolescence in just a few days. Heh, though it’s only at the first stage, I believe it already has the strength of a Bronze Warrior! If it reaches maturity… it might even rival a quasi-War Saint!” Kiro also smiled wryly as he watched the Flaming Leopard, his earlier worries disappearing instantly. A Royal-class magical beast truly lived up to its name—far stronger than magical beasts in the initial, intermediate, advanced, or King-class tiers.
“Indeed, quite fast. Hehe, it seems this kid is in trouble today. Forcing Alice to bring out her beloved magical beast—unless he dies, he’ll surely lose a layer of skin!” Anderson said meaningfully, smiling playfully at the distressed Knight Rod below.