"Little Asta, I really admire your speed. Can you tell me what was going through your mind when you managed to escape my powerful binding magic just now?" Julius rubbed his hands together, a brilliant glint appearing in his narrow eyes. It had been a long time since he had seen anyone capable of evading his time-binding magic. Of course, he hadn't intentionally tried to bind Asta specifically; after all, it was a wide-range spell aimed at everyone.
"So... so cocky..." Asta couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. Although he had known for a long time that anyone capable of becoming a village chief or the Pirate King—or the Magic Emperor, for that matter—was bound to be a bit abnormal, this Julius was truly likeable!
He was approachable when dealing with good people and clear-cut in his love and hate when dealing with bad people. His personal charisma was top-notch; it was no wonder he was so well-liked.
"Come on, tell me!" Julius pestered him.
"Fine, fine. Actually, once you had already cast that spell, I wouldn't have been able to escape at that speed. But I was able to flee the attack range before you could cast it," Asta explained.
"What sharp insight. That must be the secret behind those red eyes of yours!" Julius said.
"You could say that," Asta nodded, not revealing any more details about the Sharingan.
"Damn it! These two guys are completely disregarding me! I could ignore the other teammates, but I am a brilliant strategist! I was the one who formulated the plan to attack the Royal Capital! And now, they are looking down on me and chatting as if no one else is around. I am someone who can overturn the world! Why won't they even look at me properly?!"
Valtos thought, his emotions running high, but it was useless. Asta and Julius didn't mean to look down on them; they simply considered them as harmless as an ant waving its antennae.
"By the way, how is the Royal Capital?" Julius suddenly asked seriously.
"Actually, I think that should have been your first question!" Asta looked at the Magic Emperor with a bitter smile. Knowing the Royal Capital was under attack yet still so confidently raiding the enemy base—this level of wilfulness was off the charts!
"Oh, with Nozel, Fuegoleon, and Charlotte guarding the Royal Capital, how could there be any problems?" Julius laughed, but his smile quickly froze as he noticed Asta furrowing his brows.
"The Royal Capital didn't suffer much damage, but their target this time was Captain Fuegoleon. He was teleported to a certain location alone, and by the time he returned, one of his arms had been severed, and he was unconscious," Asta stated.
"What was their goal?" Julius's expression turned grave. Why attack Fuegoleon? At that moment, however, he and Asta entered a combat state almost simultaneously, as a strong light shone in, and a mysterious and powerful enemy appeared in mid-air!
"So this is their boss!" Asta immediately activated his Sharingan, but the light radiating from this person was so blinding that even the Three-Tomoe Sharingan couldn't withstand the harsh white glare!
The mysterious and powerful boss just stared calmly at Julius and Asta. When the intense light faded, Valtos and the others were gone.
"Such speed!" Asta couldn't help but exclaim. As expected, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan still had its limitations. Right now, he didn't have the advantage against either Magic Emperor Julius or the leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun.
"We were outplayed. Let him take his companions away," Julius said with some regret, though he didn't seem overly remorseful.
"You don't seem very bothered!" Asta said. This time, Julius had ignored the Royal Capital and headed straight for the enemy's lair to wipe them out, yet the duck that was already in his mouth had flown away.
"I remember Asta's goal is to become the Magic Emperor, right? Then you must remember the feeling of this moment well. This level of setback doesn't even count as a fraction of the setbacks you will face on your path to becoming the Magic Emperor."
Julius looked at Asta and smiled. Personally, he liked the energetic Asta, and it seemed he and Asta were fated to meet; although the ways they arrived here were different, they had ultimately met in this place.
"I understand, Magic Emperor!" Asta pursed his lips.
"Hmm! And the current situation isn't entirely bad. At least there is one member he didn't take away." Julius looked at the Eye of the Midnight Sun member closest to him and smiled. "It's just quite troublesome that these people full of hatred for the kingdom have been taken away. It seems the neighbor country's bandit group that came to raid was guided by this group. They really went to great lengths to disperse the Royal Capital's defensive forces!"
"No wonder there have been so many missions regarding bandit groups recently. So the Eye of the Midnight Sun had already started making preparations against Fuegoleon a long time ago," Asta mused.
"This is indeed a vast and determined organization. That Light Magic user who was even faster than me seems to be their leader. This is truly an interesting matter. I hope to resolve this organization within my tenure!" Julius smiled self-deprecatingly, then activated his communication magic, as it was no longer an emergency state.
"Magic Emperor! I've finally connected with you! Where are you?!" Marx couldn't help but sigh with relief after contacting Julius through communication magic. After all, the backbone of the entire empire had finally appeared!
"Haha, Marx, sorry about that. I was a bit busy just now, so I blocked the communication magic," Julius apologized.
"Please, stop with the casual talk and hurry to the medical facility!" Marx's brows were furrowed in worry. Although the attack on the Royal Capital this time hadn't caused major damage, Captain Fuegoleon of the Crimson Lion King Squad had been severely injured and remained unconscious.
"I understand." Julius turned serious, then returned to the Royal Capital's medical facility with Asta and the Eye of the Midnight Sun member who hadn't been taken away.
At this time, Captain Fuegoleon of the Crimson Lion King Squad and his younger brother, Leopold, were receiving treatment. Leopold's condition was slightly better; he had only been pierced by Wind Magic in a few places, and those wounds were currently healing. Fuegoleon, having lost an arm and suffering severe trauma, was not expected to wake up anytime soon.
"Cousin Fuegoleon, Cousin Leopold, please get well soon!" Mimosa Vermillion prayed in her heart.
"I hope they get well soon!" Sol Marron frowned.
"Indeed," Charlotte Roselei said, her tone full of concern.
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