The guy was mostly just using Beginner-tier spells, too. I think he must have been carefully preserving his mana. He was putting in some seriously godly work, man. Your average magician couldn’t have pulled this off in a million years. You’d have to be very welltrained in a specific way to manage anything of the sort. From where I was, I couldn’t hear him doing any chanting, either. I think it’s possible he was silent spellcasting…you know, using magic without the incantations. Never seen it before myself, but I guess there are people out there who can pull it off.Anyway, it was impressive stuff. But I think the guys in black had adapted to his style after seein’ him mow down half their team. And on top of that, it looked as if the guards were pretty damn bushed. The fight was more even than it seemed at first glance, in other words. I felt like it was close enough that if a single man on either side went down, that would pretty much decide things. Overall, though, I guess the guys in black were a bit more coordinated. All of sudden, they changed up their whole strategy. I’m guessing they must have signaled to each other beforehand, but I sure didn’t notice. Up till that point, they’d been going with a straightforward twoon-one approach against the three frontline guards, with their extra man acting as a roaming wildcard. Now all seven of them peeled off and made a beeline for the white-haired kid. The three swordsmen couldn’t react in time. But the kid could. Somehow keeping his focus, he instantly set off a wide-range spell that took out two of them at once. At that point, the guys in black scattered. Two of them kept heading for the white-haired boy, and the other three rushed right at the girls over by the carriage. They’d found the opportunity they needed to break through the guards’ line. The white-haired mage still managed to react. Without even looking at the two assassins bearing down on him, he whipped his wand over at the ones going for the women. Unbelievable, right? Normally, you’d be more worried about the guys about to kill you. In the next instant, a whole bunch of things happened at once. First, the white-haired kid let off a nasty spell that killed two of the assassins charging at the girls. Second, two of the guards rushed in to intercept the two guys in black who were coming for the kid. All four of ’em went down together. And finally, the last of the men in black pulled one of the frozen, trembling girls from the group and cut her pretty little head off. Just a moment too late, the last of the swordsmen stabbed him from behind. Proudly holding up the severed head of his victim, the man died with a look of satisfaction on his face. I’m guessing that must have been the young lady who the guards had been fighting so hard to protect. The five survivors just stood there in silence, totally stunned. Understandable, right? I mean, they’d lost most of their pals and the girl they were trying to defend.