Ilala Practical Combat

"Fools have their own foolish fortunes, I suppose," Ye Chuan said. But regardless, at the very least, the special training had yielded results.

"In the future, when you encounter enemies, just go up and slash them. As a Holy Knight, as long as you hack down everyone, wouldn't you be able to protect the people you want to protect?"

"Yes, I understand!" Torres said. "I will definitely become stronger! And then one day I can protect Lady Xi Xi!"

"..." Ye Chuan patted him on the shoulder.

"Having an ideal is a good thing, but daydreaming is where you're going wrong."

"Uh..."

For the time being, Ye Chuan let Torres walk back to the manor by himself, while he took Elara to train for a while in the Labyrinth of Miral.

Elara seemed to be preparing to enroll in some academy. Although Ye Chuan wasn't too clear on the details, since she was going to enroll, combat experience was definitely necessary.

Recently, Elara had been learning magic from Ye Chuan, and her various stats had improved rapidly.

Moreover, occasionally when Ye Chuan refined some pills, he would toss them into Elara's mouth. It could only be said that the current Elara's combat power was already vastly superior to what it was initially.

Returning to the Labyrinth of Miral, Elara hugged her staff and obediently followed behind Ye Chuan. "Teacher, I feel my magic power has gotten stronger lately, and I've also broken through to the third tier. Am I really talented?"

"You just have a good teacher. Your talent doesn't matter."

"Eh... Teacher, you're so mean, always finding ways to praise yourself." Before Elara could finish, Ye Chuan patted her head.

"When you become truly strong, I'll consider praising you."

"Then I will definitely become strong!"

Because Ye Chuan had been keeping his divine sense active, he quickly found a monster.

Ah, a goblin.

A familiar guy.

"It's a goblin..." Elara said. "Teacher, is this my opponent for combat practice? Isn't it a bit too weak?"

Beings like goblins generally wouldn't exceed the second tier. As a third-tier mage, Elara's combat power far surpassed it.

"Hard to say. Why don't you try making a move?" Ye Chuan said.

"Okay!"

Elara readied her staff, and the moment the goblin saw her, its eyes lit up.

It looked as if it couldn't wait to see Elara's special CG right this instant.

"Gugu gaga!" The goblin danced around wildly with a wooden club in its hand.

"Phew—" Elara raised her staff. "High-Speed Incantation, Water Cannon!"

Pale blue magic rapidly gathered at the tip of Elara's staff, forming a water cannon as thick as a bucket, which blasted toward the goblin with a piercing howl.

The surface of the water cannon shimmered with fragmented silver light, the effect of her compressed third-tier magic. Carrying an impact force enough to shatter rocks, the air along its path was enveloped by moist water vapor, creating a faint mist!

But that goblin was far more agile than Elara had imagined. Seeing the water cannon incoming, it didn't panic. Instead, it sharply bent over, its thick, short legs kicking off the ground as its body rolled to the side like a fired cannonball.

The water cannon grazed the corner of its clothes and blasted into the wall behind it, exploding with a loud boom!

"Eh? It missed?"

Elara blanked for a second. Just as she was about to channel her magic again to unleash a second water cannon, she saw the goblin had already scrambled up from the ground, its dark claws swiftly grabbing a jagged rock the size of a human head.

"Gugu gaga!" It grinned, revealing yellowed fangs. The muscles in its arm bulged as it fiercely hurled the rock at Elara!

The rock tore through the air with a sharp whistle, its speed exceeding all expectations.

Seeing the incoming rock, Elara subconsciously wanted to raise her hand to defend herself, but after using High-Speed Incantation, her magic hadn't fully stabilized yet, making her reaction half a beat too slow.

With a dull thud, the sharp rock smashed squarely into her left cheek.

"Ugh!" Elara let out a muffled groan of pain. Her cheek instantly swelled red, and a trace of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

The intense impact left her head spinning. Her grip on the staff loosened involuntarily, and the staff dropped straight to the ground.

The magic that was halfway gathered instantly fell into disarray, colliding within her body and causing a heavy tightness in her chest, nearly leaving her breathless.

"Not good..."

"My staff..."

Before she could recover, several short figures suddenly darted out from the shadows on both sides of the corridor—there were a full five hidden goblins!

They all held crude bone bows in their hands, the bowstrings already drawn taut. The arrowheads were sharpened beast bones gleaming with a dark green, toxic light, evidently coated in poison.

"Gugu ga!" The leading goblin let out a weird screech, and the five goblins released their grips simultaneously. Five bone arrows shot straight toward Elara like five dark streaks!

Enduring the intense pain in her cheek, Elara tried to dodge, but just as she took a step, she tripped over some rubble and lost her balance.

She watched helplessly as a bone arrow flew straight for her left arm, with absolutely no time to defend!

With a squelch, the sharp bone arrowhead easily pierced through her sleeve and stabbed viciously into her arm. The tip of the arrow protruded from the other side of her skin, bringing with it a spurt of warm blood.

"Ah!" A sharp pain spread from her arm, and Elara couldn't help but cry out in agony, tears instantly welling up in her eyes.

Blood flowed down the arrow shaft, dyeing her sleeve red. The poisoned arrowhead quickly brought a numbing sensation to her arm, making the flow of her magic sluggish.

The other four arrows grazed past her body and nailed into the wall behind her, their fletchings still quivering slightly.

Seeing this, the five goblins closed in with eerie cackles, brandishing wooden clubs and bone knives in their hands, their eyes flashing with greedy and savage light.

"Oh no... Why... Aren't goblins supposed to be weak monsters?"

"Ugh..."

Elara curled up on the ground, tightly clutching her bleeding arm with her left hand. Tears mixed with sweat rolled down her face, overwhelmed by both pain and fear.

She wanted to pick up her staff and fight back, but the numbness in her arm was growing stronger. She barely had the strength to lift her hand anymore and could only look helplessly toward Ye Chuan nearby:

"T-Teacher... Save me..."

Ye Chuan stood in place, not making a move immediately. He just crossed his arms and slightly raised an eyebrow.

He had noticed the goblins in the shadows long ago, but he hadn't given a warning. This was how actual combat should be; ignoring the surroundings and underestimating the enemy were the most fatal mistakes.

"Elara, even if you die, I will just resurrect you." Ye Chuan's voice was calm and unruffled, even a bit cruel.

"Giving up after just taking one arrow? And you still want to enter the academy like this?"

Elara bit her lip, fighting back her tears as she looked at the approaching goblins, and then at her own bleeding arm.

Her teacher's words were like a basin of cold water poured over her head, instantly sobering her up a bit. Actual combat was no child's play, and the enemy wouldn't show mercy just because she was a mage.

What should she do now?

Teacher had said...

To use every available means...

Since she couldn't hold the staff with one hand, Elara gritted her teeth and began to gather magic with her other hand.

Without the amplification of her staff, she only had one chance.

As those goblins drew near, Elara suddenly raised her hand.

"Watashi, Water Bullet!!"