Ryan carried Evelyn through the stone-paved streets of the small town, his eyes wandering with curiosity, occasionally drawn to the local street vendors and their specialty snacks, casually buying a few as he went.

  Magic users were scarce in this town. The most advanced mage Ryan had seen so far was only at the Journeyman Mage level.

  On this magical continent, ordinary people still made up the overwhelming majority. Cities like Snowmere or Penney, built around spellcasters, were extremely rare across the land.

  Ryan carried Evelyn steadily, letting her legs rest naturally around his waist, her hands clasped around his neck.

  He worried that keeping her legs suspended for too long would make them ache, so he used his right hand, which had real tactile feedback, to support her knees and share the weight.

  His left hand remained in its metallic, mechanized form, skillfully holding a sizzling roasted chicken leg, which he devoured in large bites.

  After finishing the chicken, he turned and bought a skewer of grapes coated in honey, first offering one to Evelyn by gently touching her lips, signaling her to take a bite.

  Only once she nibbled did he happily eat the rest himself.

  Many pedestrians on the street couldn't help but turn and stare at the affectionate pair, eyes full of admiration. Evelyn, carried by Ryan, wore no veil to conceal her face.

  Her cold and flawless beauty was fully visible, like a goddess descended from above.

  "Those murderers are coming again! Run!"

  As Ryan leisurely strolled through the streets with Evelyn on his back, enjoying this rare calm, a terrified scream rang out from the end of the street.

  The once-bustling street instantly descended into chaos. People scattered in all directions, leaving Ryan bewildered.

  "What's going on?" Ryan tried to grab a passerby to ask, but the person was too panicked to listen, pulling his arm away while fleeing for their life.

  Ordinary townspeople made up the majority of the population, and many vendors abandoned their stalls, running wildly. The street quickly turned into a scene of disorder.

  "Everyone, don't be so scared of us~"

  A sultry, almost impossible-to-identify-as-male-or-female voice came from the distant sky, dripping with unsettling playfulness.

  Moments later, a heavily muscled man slowly descended from the clouds. Looking at the empty street, there was no trace of urgency on his face only a teasing smile.

  Ryan, having sensed danger earlier, had already reacted. Carrying Evelyn, he quickly ducked into a small, inconspicuous house by the roadside.

  Through the door crack, he peered at the massive figure outside, puzzled. Could that strangely feminine voice really belong to this muscular man?

  Ryan shivered and shook his head, dismissing the absurd thought. After all, a man of such intimidating build could not possibly produce such a delicate, sultry voice. The contrast was just too extreme to accept.

  Inside the house, a pair of ordinary townspeople crouched in the corner, trembling.

  They were both fearful of those outside and wary of Ryan and Evelyn, who had suddenly barged in seeking refuge.

  A faint scraping of wood sounded, and the couple exchanged glances. Carefully, they moved to the edge of the bed and lifted a floorboard, revealing a hidden tunnel entrance beneath.

  They turned to Ryan and Evelyn, timidly beckoning them to come inside and hide.

  But Ryan shook his head, signaling with his eyes that they didn't need to bother. He had already scanned the area with his mind, and the muscular man outside had at most the magical power of a Second-tier Senior Mage, not remotely a threat.

  Seeing this, the couple stopped insisting. After all, their own lives were the most important.

  They quickly crawled into the tunnel, efficiently closing the floorboard behind them to hide themselves.

  "No matter how scared you are, you still can't escape our grasp~"

  This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

  The same nauseatingly sultry voice rang out again from outside, sending goosebumps across Ryan's skin.

  He turned his head to peek through the door crack and felt a wave of revulsion. He could not have imagined that the strange, feminine voice actually belonged to that bulky man.

  Despite being a tall, heavily muscled man, his speech was affected to the extreme.

  "Fuck your." Ryan silently cursed the man in his mind. The contrast was so jarring it made him genuinely sick.

  Just as Ryan thought the man was alone and was about to take action against him, several small black dots appeared in the distant sky.

  They moved at incredible speed, converging with the bulky man in moments as if quietly discussing something.

  The auras of those people were cold and sinister. They were clearly not lawful mages.

  Ryan felt puzzled. He could not understand which region of the Central Continent this was, where people could act so brazenly.

  By logic, the Central Continent was the territory of the major orthodox magic academies, where dark forces were at their weakest.

  The orthodox powers had long united, treating dark forces as mortal enemies and launching countless purges, pushing their main forces to the desolate edges of the continent.

  Through the door crack, Ryan focused intently on the scene outside.

  Soon, a man wearing a grotesque bone mask descended slowly in black flames, stopping in front of the bulky man. Dozens of hooded figures with dark, oppressive auras followed closely behind.

  "Don't waste words. Search everything! Capture all young boys and girls with magical talent!" the masked man commanded.

  He was clearly the leader of the squad. His name was Berton.

  At his order, the hooded followers immediately scattered, each targeting a house. They swung fists imbued with shadow magic, forcefully striking at the doors.

  There were screams, desperate resistance, and horrifying cries of those instantly struck by shadow magic, collapsing in pools of blood.

  Ryan was confused. These were ordinary people who could have fled, so why risk their lives defending such meager possessions?

  He didn't have time to think. He guided Evelyn to sit against the wall in the corner and quietly instructed her to stay put. Then, he summoned Lyra to guard her.

  Once that was done, Ryan moved behind the door, slowly clenching his right fist as his magical power silently flowed, ready for the hooded followers to approach.

  Two loud sounds rang out almost simultaneously. One was the explosive crash of a door being kicked open by a hooded follower.

  The other was the terrifying sound of a follower being struck by a magical shockwave Ryan released the moment they entered the room, their body instantly torn apart in a mist of blood.

  Berton's gaze immediately pierced through the shattered door and landed on Evelyn, sitting weakly against the wall.

  Just one glance, and Berton's eyes went wide, his whole body burning with an uncontrollable heat, his magical power in complete disarray, and his lower body reacting of its own accord.

  With a face like that, it would be incredibly fun to play with her! But first, he had to deal with Ryan!

  Ryan naturally caught the lecherous look, and his eyes flared with burning fury. His right hand formed into a claw, carrying a sharp gust of wind, aiming straight for Berton's lower body.

  He was determined to crush the vital part of this scumbag who had dared to desecrate Evelyn!

  Ryan paid no mind to the other followers around him. His Ninth-tier Senior Mage power erupted violently, magical flames enveloping his body, and he charged forward in an instant.

  "Kill him! Kill him now!" Berton's face turned pale when he saw Ryan's unleashed power level. The arrogance he had moments ago vanished, replaced by sheer terror, and he turned to flee.

  He was only a Sixth-tier Senior Mage. How could he possibly contend with Ryan? Survival was the only thing that mattered now! He had assumed Ryan was a useless Magic Apprentice, but he had clearly misjudged.

  With Berton fleeing, his subordinates naturally would not follow orders. The cultists of the dark forces were inherently ruthless and selfish. If they didn't run now, when would they?

  A few of the more vicious followers attacked nearby ordinary people, sinking their teeth into their necks. They drained them dry, turning their bodies into desiccated husks, their own magical power surging, and then they fled at high speed.

  "Trying to run?" Ryan's form flashed violently, magical afterimages trailing him as he closed in on the fleeing cultists at lightning speed.

  He wasted no words. One punch per person, his rampaging magic blowing through them. Wherever his fists struck, the cobblestones cracked, buildings trembled, and the fleeing cultists either had their bones shattered or were reduced to a mist of blood by the impact of his magic.

  "You're disgusting! I'm going to kill you~!"

  That nauseatingly sultry voice rang out again, piercing Ryan's eardrums.

  "You're really disgusting!" Hearing that, Ryan abandoned pursuing the other cultists. His magical power surged again, and he leapt directly toward the bulky man.

  But the bulky man was no pushover either. Seeing Ryan charging, a dense blood-red aura burst from his body, interwoven with threads of black shadow magic.

  From him came faint, eerie wails, as if countless imprisoned souls were struggling to escape his body.

  He let out a strange roar at Ryan, the tail of the sound elongated with a chillingly feminine quality.

  Ryan shivered in disgust, his stomach churning. This bastard was a complete mockery of what it meant to be"bulky"!

  "I'm going to kill you~!" The bulky man clenched a pair of pink fists entirely out of proportion to his massive frame and slammed them onto the ground. The floor cracked instantly, and using the recoil, he lunged at Ryan wrapped in the blood-red aura.

  The bulky man charged with his aura, but in just one motion, Ryan grabbed his neck.

  Ryan then hoisted his body and violently threw it like trash toward the fleeing Berton.

  At that moment, five figures descended from the distant sky, clad in silver-white armor, appearing to belong to the orthodox magical forces.

  But they did not attack Berton. Instead, they struck the flying bulky man's corpse with a single palm.

  A brilliant explosion of magic shattered the body instantly, reducing it to a cloud of blood mist.

  "How dare you slaughter innocents in a city protected by my Sanctum of the Sacred Sword. Do you want to die?"

  One of the five, an elder with white hair and beard, stepped forward. His magical power erupted violently as he shouted sternly.

  Berton froze for a moment, then broke into ecstatic relief. He immediately changed direction and hid behind the five figures, as if he had finally found protection.