As the three people dispersed, a colossal fist of flames suddenly rumbled down from the heavens. The small mountain ridge seemed unable to endure the power of the flames as it began to tremble fiercely.
Whoosh!!
The heat became increasingly violent. Some of the surrounding trees quickly snapped off, and the treetops were so bent that it would have reached the ground.
As the colossal fist of flames barged in, the Hunter Mages began to scatter in fear, leaving only the Cowboy standing there. There was no sign of him evading the spell, his eyes even revealed a bit of disdain!
"Rock Barrier!" Cowboy Man yelled out, his two hands beginning to push out.
Within the tongue of the flame, a rock wall emerged. It formed into a rugged barrier of massive rocks!
The rugged wall of stones looked like a shield that protected the people inside it, so thick that nothing could break into it.
Doom!
The colossal fist of flames that exploded at the top of the mountain actually left behind an imprint, but the waves of flames could only flow out into the surrounding area as they followed the stone barrier.
...
Mo Fan and Tang Yue were literally bored out of their minds.
"Ugh. It feels like they will take some time to finish..." Mo Fan whined.
"Sigh... Well, an enforcer's job is not always fun and games either," Tang Yue responded, mirroring his sigh.
Mo Fan's eyes suddenly lit up with a mischievous glint. "...That's right! Let's play some games to kill time!" he suggested enthusiastically.
Tang Yue raised an eyebrow, intrigued yet confused. "What games?" she asked.
With a flourish, Mo Fan summoned a bunch of games from his inventory, all floating around them thanks to his telekinesis. There were chess, shogi, cards, darts, Uno, and many more.
Tang Yue scanned the array of family games and settled on Uno. "Let's play this!" she declared, grabbing the Uno card box.
"Uno? Sure, let's play!" Mo Fan agreed, his eyes twinkling with excitement.
"Hmm... But let's make it more exciting! How about the winner gets to make the loser fulfil any one of their wishes?" Mo Fan proposed with a devilish grin.
Tang Yue eyed him suspiciously. "Am I sensing some ulterior motives again?"
"Who knows? But I guess I understand if you're too scared to lose though~ I mean, after all, you're up against me~" Mo Fan taunted provocatively.
"Huh?! Who do you think you are to look down on your teacher! I'll show you why I'm called the grandmistress of Uno back at my home!" Tang Yue snapped, taking the bait with a fiery determination.
Mo Fan smirked cunningly. "That's the spirit, teacher!" he said excitedly.
They settled down to play, shuffling the cards with an air of intensity. The game was on.
...
After Cowboy Man finished his defence, the man with scars on his face also finished casting his Wind Intermediate Magic from beneath the rocks.
"Wind Trail, Tornado!"
In an instant, the reservoir within the mountain range felt as though,
Swoosh!!
A gale suddenly erupted. The dry and warm air was quickly blown away by the evil wind. The people who were standing by the small reservoir was clearly feeling the air within a hundred meters of their surroundings frantically flowing into a designated area.
The streams of air congested into the most constrained point of the air, causing it to slowly swirl around and build up into a frightening tornado!
Whoosh!
The tornado spun the dust into itself as it formed into a hazy yellow spiral extending across the sky. Even the trees in the surroundings were unable to endure the strength of the wind, and were nearly pulled into the tornado!
As the frenzied winds blew into their faces, they began to hurt a bit.
Compared to the Basic level Wind Track, the Intermediate Wind spell was like a Tyrannosaurus; the destructive power was incredibly frightening!
Swo~~~oooooosh~~~
After the tornado passed by, the small reservoir had changed in form.
Thud!!
The bent trees were bent, the collapsed had collapsed, and stones were everywhere.
Twiii~~iinn~~
In the centre of the chaos were precisely the four Mages from the Dong Fang Family.
They had used a Magic Tool to defend themselves, as they weren't thrown up into the air. If not, they wouldn't even have half of their life remaining if they had fallen from such a height.
Although the four did defend themselves against the spell, their appearances showed they were in a difficult situation. The man who was wearing a Tang suit seemed to have some anger revealed on his face.
Both of the sides were burning with rage, and the Mages were no longer cautiously using their Intermediate spells.
The fight paced back and forth for ten minutes, and Magic Tools were brought out as well.
Ultimately, the man wearing the Tang suit used a Death Strike Magical Tool to cut down the scarred man's rock shield. The Hunter Mage squad retreated in shock.
Once their defence was taken away, the group of Hunter Mages who needed a whole team to compete were completely overwhelmed by the four Intermediate Mages.
"Today, I will give the Hunter Union some face. If you don't get out now, then I will burn all of you into ashes! When the Enforcement Team comes, they won't be able to find a single trace of you!" the man in Tang suit yelled out angrily, and a golden ball of flame emerged from his hand!
Xiong Pan and his people were incredibly reluctant, but they had no ability to stand up for themselves.
It wasn't that their skills were not on par, it was the fact that these Family members just had way too much Magical Equipment on them.
With great difficulty, they were able to suppress their opponents in term of skills, but they ended up being easily defeated by the Magical Tools!
At this time, the difference between an influential family and a grassroot Magician became very clear.
"We'll go!" Xiong Pan clenched his teeth as he carried his teammate who had been knocked unconscious.
What they could rejoice about is that no one had died. The truth is, the people from the Dong Fang Family were completely capable of killing them right now; however, they chose to not do so due to potential repercussions from the Magic Association and the Main Clan.
Mages fighting over treasures in the outside world was a common occurrence. Mages who had reached a higher realm most likely had their hands stained with the blood of their comrades. The Hunter Mages believed their own lives were more important than the Fire Soul Core.
Their group quickly retreated. They did not linger around this place as they seemed to be completely out of energy.
The four people from the Dong Fang family let out long breaths, finally relaxing after seeing the Hunter Mages retreat.
"Shit, they even dared to mess with us. I reckon our loss was quite big as well, my Nebula is nearly exhausted," the handsome spiky-haired man cursed out.
"Yeah, it was thanks to what Brother Jun said; directly scare them away."
The face of Tang Suit Man hadn't relaxed. Those Hunter Mages usually fought against monsters; they were more powerful than the Intermediate Mages who usually stayed within the city. Thankfully, he had brought these three people who could be considered to be above average within the small branch family, or else he would've died here.
The people from the Hunter Union were indeed not people they could easily provoke!
...
Meanwhile High up in the sky, the game of Uno raged on.
"Uno!" Mo Fan exclaimed!
Raising his single card triumphantly and placing it on his forehead to mock Tang Yue, who still held five cards in her hands. "Hehe~ I win~"
"You remember our bet, right? You have to do something I tell you to do~" Mo Fan said smugly, his grin widening.
He saw Tang Yue trembling in anger and laughed out loud. She looked too adorable even when she was mad. "Haha~ just accept your loss already~" he taunted.
But Tang Yue's response was unexpected. "Huhu..." she uttered a low, sinister laugh.
Mo Fan immediately looked at her, puzzled. "Hmm? Why are you laughing? Don't tell me you're going back on your word?" he asked seriously.
"Hohohoho! It's too early to laugh, Little Mo Fan~ Draw 4~" Tang Yue cackled like a queen, revealing her card with a flourish.
Mo Fan's eyes widened in shock. "What?! No way!"
Tang Yue's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Oh yes, way~ Draw 4, and don't forget to add a colour change!" she commanded, her voice dripping with victorious glee.
Mo Fan reluctantly drew the four cards, his triumphant smirk replaced with a scowl. The tables had turned dramatically. Tang Yue's hand was now only slightly disadvantaged.
Tang Yue smirked. "You thought you had me cornered, didn't you? Think again!"
"You... You got lucky this time!" Mo Fan grumbled, narrowing his eyes at her.
"Luck? This is pure skill, my dear student. Never underestimate your teacher," Tang Yue said, her voice dripping with confidence.
As the game continued, Mo Fan's initial lead crumbled under Tang Yue's strategic moves. She played each card with precision, slowly but surely turning the tide in her favour.
"Ha! Reverse!" Tang Yue declared, changing the direction of the game. "And now, skip!"
Mo Fan watched helplessly as Tang Yue whittled down her cards, her triumphant laughter filling the air.
"Draw two!" Tang Yue added, her grin widening as Mo Fan drew even more cards.
"You've got to be kidding me..." Mo Fan was having a hard time to believe that she had planned things so much.
The game reached its climax with both of them holding their last cards. Mo Fan had two cards in his hand while Tang Yue had one. The tension was palpable, the air thick with anticipation.
Mo Fan's heart raced. He needed to outsmart her. "Here's my card!" he exclaimed, slapping down a red 3.
Tang Yue's eyes sparkled with mischief. "And here's mine! Uno!" She placed her final card, a yellow 3, on the pile.
Mo Fan stared in disbelief as Tang Yue did a back flip in air victoriously. "I win."
Mo Fan sighed, dropping his cards. "Fine, you win. What's your wish?"
Tang Yue's eyes gleamed with satisfaction. "My wish? Oh right! I'll let you know when the time is right. For now, let's just say you owe me one, Mo Fan."
Mo Fan groaned inwardly, realizing he had fallen into her trap. "Great... just great."
Tang Yue chuckled, enjoying the moment. "Next time, maybe you'll think twice before challenging the grandmistress of Uno."
Mo Fan smirked despite his defeat. "We'll see about that. Next time, I'll definitely win."
Tang Yue shook her head with a smile. "You're welcome to try, but be prepared to face the consequences."
For a moment, they forgot about their mission, simply relishing in the joy of each other's company and the light-heartedness of their game.
"Hmm? It looks like they've finished down there as well!" Mo Fan said while putting away the Uno.