The Great Witch Biggs, having ascended to the rank of a Wind Wizard in the Gray Robe, was positively glowing. Suddenly, she became the center of attention in the squad. This unexpected achievement made her feel as if she were floating on air.
She no longer needed to worry about whether she could reclaim her title as the omnipotent Great Witch of Gaga County from Elder Rostellum. As an advanced wizard, she would receive adulation wherever she went, even in Liuli City. Her gray wizard robe would become her Access Permit to travel unhindered across the continent. Whether in the whimsical and eccentric Wensi Empire or the savage and cruel Mantai Empire, she would be able to move freely, for no nation would reject the arrival of a wizard.
Wizards and Alchemists held a high status on the Yowein Continent. Organizations like the Wizard Alliance and Alchemy Workshop could sometimes even hold more sway than empires. Survival of the fittest still ruled this continent; it was a world governed by power.
Witch Biggs was strategizing how to join the Wizard Alliance, torn between directly knocking on the doors of the alliance's branch office in Luona or asking her younger apprentices for a letter of recommendation. Both methods seemed viable, and her indecisiveness was, in a way, a delightful problem. This delightful problem made Biggs forget many things. She forgot her Divination House, the scoundrels in Gaga County who owed her divination fees, the Alien Species she had encountered not long ago, and even the imminent danger they were currently in...
"Lord Witch!" Musa was supporting the increasingly smaller Spirit Wall with both hands while glancing askance at Biggs, who wore a strange smile.
The moment Witch Biggs advanced, the threat from the fragmented corpses did indeed lessen somewhat. The sudden gust of wind disoriented the fragmented corpses, and many were stumbling and staggering as they were blown away. But the Black Crow leader controlling the fragmented corpses from behind was no ordinary individual. After being momentarily taken aback by the awakened wizard, he quickly regained his composure. With a slight adjustment to his strategy, the fragmented corpses once again seized the offensive initiative. However, wary of the awakened wizard, the corpses' attacks were no longer as savage as before; they opted for a more conservative approach of entanglement and control. It seemed the instructions for these walking corpses had changed. The initial fierce drive to utterly crush their opponents had vanished, replaced by a veteran's calm and a strategy of attrition. The reasoning was actually quite simple: the superior side only needed to keep their opponents pinned down. Over time, even the strongest force would be drained by such entanglement.
What's more, this was a newly ascended Wind Wizard. Her control over the wind was still very raw, far from the level a Gray Robe should possess.
Axia hid behind Musa's Spirit Wall, not daring to make a sound. Her prized Alchemy Exchange Beasts, as if receiving a command from their controller, had either vanished or become immobile. In short, the connection was completely severed; those flying beasts no longer engaged the walking corpses.
This situation plunged Axia into a state of helplessness. That was the Alchemy Workshop she trusted most! Yet now, it had ruthlessly abandoned her, ignoring her plight, leaving her to suffer the torment of these walking corpses and fragmented bodies without a shred of pity. And her only hope was a newly ascended wizard, one who had been the butt of her jokes for the entire journey. This was simply ridiculous, a thorough and utter joke.
Of course, Great Witch Biggs was oblivious to Axia's strange state. She was busy trying to guide the wind. This wind was not only a lost child but a mischievous one too. If you told it to go west, it stubbornly headed east. Sometimes it moved sluggishly, other times it rushed along.
"Uh, I'm sorry, it wasn't on purpose." Great Witch Biggs had accidentally blown Qi Liu away. Besides an apologetic look, there was a hint of embarrassment on her face. After all, she had originally intended for the wind to blow away the severed leg attacking Qi Liu. However, she hadn't anticipated that the mischievous 'child' would turn around and shove Qi Liu himself aside. Although the ultimate goal was achieved—Qi Liu was not hit by the severed leg—the nature of it was different. Pushed by this unlucky 'child' of a wind, Qi Liu tumbled and fell flat on his face. Saved or not, his mood was instantly ruined by that humiliating fall.
This, of course, was merely the tip of the iceberg of Witch Biggs' clumsy Wind Control Technique. The fragmented corpses blocked by Musa's Spirit Wall just wouldn't be blown into the sky. Musa called out 'Senior Wizard' one moment and 'Great Sage' the next, exhausting all sorts of honorifics, yet the number of fragmented corpses surrounding the Spirit Wall showed no signs of decreasing. Those fragmented corpses remained utterly unchanged, unaffected by any wind, and continued their relentless assault on Musa.
If Musa hadn't been a bit more resilient, he probably would have been devoured by the fragmented corpses by now...
"Senior..." Musa's voice was already a little hoarse. He had spent most of his strength on maintaining the Spirit Wall. If not for Musa's persistence, their group would have long since been torn apart by the walking corpses.
Those two, Qi Liu and Axia, were never going to be the main force against the fragmented corpses. A Politician inherently lacked the means to fight. As for the Alchemy Servant, aside from a sharp tongue, he was all show and no substance—perhaps even less useful than an actual decorative stand.
Thus, Musa had entrusted the crucial task of counterattacking to Great Witch Biggs.
But Biggs was far from meeting Musa's expectations...
"Uh, sorry, I've been trying, but that little brat just plants itself and refuses to budge an inch," Witch Biggs apologized to Musa, while also explaining the reason. However, this explanation served no purpose; in fact, it backfired, leaving Musa utterly bewildered.
Musa even began to think that the Great Witch's brain had fried when she advanced. In this short time, he had heard her mutter about 'child' this and 'child' that no less than five times. Such repetitive self-talk had to be a sign of a damaged brain.
Great Witch Biggs was neither the type of genius who understood things at a glance, nor was she a fool who couldn't grasp anything no matter how it was explained. Her control over the wind remained terrible; try as she might, she still couldn't find a way to coax this 'child' that was the wind.
This 'child' of a wind was truly mischievous, constantly playing pranks and causing trouble. The Great Witch could do nothing about it but sigh in exasperation.
Witch Biggs's sighs brought no change. The fragmented corpses continued to harass them. Her Gray Robe didn't scare off this horde of walking corpses; instead, it made them even more cautious and difficult to deal with.
"Senior Wizard, wake up!" Musa reminded the Great Witch again, although he was still convinced that she had probably lost her mind.
Biggs shook her head, as if she had suddenly entered another world. With a couple of quick gestures, she raised her hands, conjuring a spinning gust of wind that swept all the fragmented corpses besieging Musa up into mid-air...