The Hydral Manor in the Hydral territory is far less luxurious than the manor in the Imperial Capital.


    This all stems from the somewhat whimsical Lady Annelisa, who felt that the original Hydral Manor was toorge and too empty. Thus, melle made some minor modifications to the ancestral house.


    Now, even without Annelisa and melle, the manor does not feel empty; on the contrary, it has be rather… lively.


    Boom, boom, boom—


    On the expansivewn, the roar of gunfire was incessant. Ravenna, sitting under a parasol and reading a book, looked up at the tall figure charging towards her amidst the barrage of floating cannons, her brows slightly furrowed.


    "This is truly... an unreasonable spiritual essencet."


    The schr murmured to herself, raising her arm amidst the increasingly close and excited roars.


    The fierce wolf beast, standing at a towering height of 2.2 meters with wolf ears and a tail,ughed as she burst through the endless explosions. She leapt into the sky, a red-ck vortex of energy coalescing on her fist, resembling a roaring wolf''s head. With a punch from Seraphina, it descended with an unstoppable force towards Ravenna.


    However, an endless array of iron-gray particles instantly formed nineyers of shields above Ravenna. The seemingly invincible red-ck death light shattered sixyers of barriers before dissipating without a trace.


    Seraphina,nding on the ground, had a floating cannon aimed at her forehead. The cannon''s muzzle emitted a zing white light that enveloped her entire head. Seraphina even scratched her face with her hand, pushing forward with her head against the cannon''s overloaded st.


    "You must have more tricks up your sleeve."


    Seraphina, her head still in the zingser, said irritably, "Wasn''t thest strike said to carve an abyss into the ground?"


    "That effect was only possible with Ansel''s assistance and augmentation."


    Ravenna adjusted her sea-blue sses and looked up at Seraphina:


    "Do you really think Ansel just sits there pushing levers? Without Hydral''s power boost, the strength of the mechanical descent wouldn''t reach that level."


    "Whether it''s the massive amount of ether required or the abyss that even I, as the Head of the Abyss, can''t easily touch, it all needs Ansel''s help... Besides, this is just a sparring session. Are you sure you want to go that far?"


    "This kind of sparring is meaningless to me... Enough already! Why are you still firing?!"


    Seraphina, looking annoyed, grabbed the floating cannon aimed at her head, crushed it, and tossed it aside. She then mmed her hands heavily on the round tea table, "Shorty... ahem! Ravenna!"


    Ravenna, resting her chin on one hand, responded indifferently, "Hmm?"


    Seraphina''s body gradually returned to its usual state, her fluffy wolf ears and tail retracting. She cleared her throat and said somewhat awkwardly:


    Your next read is at empire


    "You are Ansel''s pact head, right?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Yes."


    "So you definitely want Ansel to be stronger, right?"


    "Yes."


    "That means you want me to be stronger too, right?"


    "…"


    After a brief silence, the petite Ravenna rubbed her temples.


    "Why do you think I can help you be stronger?"


    She closed her book with a snap and looked at Seraphina expressionlessly.


    "What are you thinking, you self-righteous woman!" Seraphina was annoyed by Ravenna''s sour expression—though Ravenna often wore such an expression, it still irked Seraphina. "I wanted to ask you, what do you think—"


    The familiar scent from a distance interrupted Seraphina''s words. She turned around in surprise and saw Ansel approaching with a young man.


    "Ansel!"


    The girl excitedly waved at Ansel and was about to run towards him, but her steps halted when she noticed the young man behind him.


    ...Battle intent.


    Seraphina''s wild, dark red eyes widened slightly, her expression showing a hint of disbelief.


    The power of the Head of Wind brushed past the young man, carrying a faint hostility and intense battle intent.


    "You actually sparred with Seri, Venna."


    Ansel, walking towards them, looked at Ravenna''s back and chuckled, "I thought you would be spending all your time in the library. The Hydral territory''s collection far surpasses that of the Imperial Capital."


    Hearing this, Seraphina was stunned again. She turned to look at Ravenna, full of confusion, "Didn''t you say Ansel asked you to spar with me?"


    "…"


    Miss Ravenna acted as if she hadn''t heard Seraphina''s question, turning to look at Ansel, who had suddenlye to find them. A hint of displeased resentment appeared on her delicate brows. If it weren''t for the stranger behind Ansel, she might have blurted out "you little brat."


    "I wanted to ask you."


    She narrowed her eyes slightly, "Why aren''t you busy with your own matters? Why did youe to find us, and brought along such a..."


    The petite schr sneered, "Promising young sorcerer."


    Seraphina tilted her head, somewhat puzzled.


    Facing Ravenna''s displeased gaze and Seraphina''s confused look, Ansel brought the young man to stand before the two girls. He tilted his head slightly and nced at the young sorcerer behind him, "Introduce yourself briefly, Gerald."


    The young sorcerer performed an impable noble bow, then lifted his chin slightly and said with great confidence, "Good morning, esteemed pact heads. I am Gerald Heineken, a fourth-stage arcane sorcerer, currently serving as Lord Ansel''s... chief sorcerer."


    His introduction was concise and to the point—name, rank, and position, nothing more.


    Such a straightforward introductionid bare his sharp confidence.


    Seraphina sidled up to Ravenna and whispered, "What is an arcane sorcerer?"


    "There are so many branches of sorcery that even sorcerers themselves can''t keep track. Anyone who learns some odd spells can im a new branch."


    Ravenna''s response seemed less like an answer to Seraphina''s question and more like an appraisal of this "chief sorcerer."


    "But arcane sorcerers are the most orthodox, mainstream, ssical, traditional... heh."


    Miss Ravenna, who inherited her grandfather''s rebellious ideals and was considered unorthodox in the sorcery world, let out a disdainful and scornfulugh.


    "Ansel," she turned to Ansel, ignoring Gerald, "I didn''t know you had such a so-called... ''chief sorcerer.''"


    She lifted her chin slightly, "Where does that leave me?"


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