Chapter 49: Igor's Mental State Shatters

Having successfully defeated two witches and captured two blue cards, Wang Xi felt a surge of elation. He gave a light cough, cast his gaze toward the remaining company, and began pondering who his next target would be.

"Mister Gai."

At that moment, Lillian, the quiet and aloof maiden in the white dress, spoke softly. Her small hands, resting upon the fabric of her skirt, clenched and unclenched. Her eyelids drooped, and her long eyelashes fluttered slightly.

"Would you... play a game with me?"

"Of course," Wang Xi smiled. "How would Miss Lillian like to play?"

"Just now, I saw that you can use water magic."

As she spoke, Lillian placed a small hand upon the table. Resting quietly in her fair, slender palm was an utterly ordinary match.

"As long as... you can spray water and extinguish this match, you win. Is that alright?"

Hearing the words "spray water," the corners of Wang Xi's mouth twitched slightly. He stared at the match, utterly failing to fathom the young girl's intentions.

Could it really be that simple?

No.

It was not simple at all...

As the most powerful fire witch in the Magical Forest, could the match in her hand possibly be an ordinary match?

Wang Xi felt a deep sense of unease.

However, noticing Lillian's timid expression and the flicker of anticipation hidden in the glances she stole at him, Wang Xi sighed inwardly and dismissed the thought of changing the wager. He was entirely capable of using his eloquence to steer the contest toward a field he excelled in and secure an easy victory through cleverness.

Yet, this time, he chose not to do so.

*Consider it keeping Lillian company for a while,* a thought flashed through Wang Xi's mind.

Based on his experience and intuition, although Lillian possessed the might of the strongest witch, true happiness eluded her inner world. Coupled with her cold temperament, she likely had little to no social interaction outside of her two sisters. Putting aside the identity of the Fire Witch, she was merely a socially anxious girl who happened to be terrible at mathematics.

"Alright," Wang Xi readily agreed with a nod. "Let's begin."

Lillian let out a soft sound of affirmation, a flash of surprise lighting up her sapphire-like eyes. With a mess of golden hair framing her face, she picked up the matchstick between her index finger and thumb.

Without a single superfluous movement—

*Snap!*

The match spontaneously burst into flame. A tiny, slender flame flickered gently, casting a faint glow. There was not the slightest hint of anything extraordinary about it.

Yet, Beverly and Sophia both instinctively took a half-step back, and Igor, the wolf butler, silently followed his mistress's retreat.

Wang Xi glanced at them, his heart tightening.

*No. You all reacting like this is terrifying!*

*That's not a match, is it? It's actually a nuclear warhead disguised as a match, right?!*

"I'm coming," he took a deep breath, putting on a serious expression as he addressed the girl in white. "Are you ready?"

Lillian let out another soft affirmation, nodding with eager expectation.

Wang Xi jerked his hand forward.

——「Water Blade」

In an instant, four or five flying blades of condensed water, each the length of a palm and two fingers wide, materialized one after another and shot straight forward.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*

The onlookers only saw pale blue streaks of water cutting through the air.

Yet, the moment they reached the glow of the match, a sharp hissing sound rang out, and they instantly evaporated into mist, vanishing without a trace.

*What?!*

Wang Xi was startled.

They evaporated before even touching the flame...

Just how terrifying is this thing?!

"Hmph, a little chick is just a little chick!"

Sophia crossed her arms, letting out a mocking scoff.

"With that level of water magic, it's utterly impossible to extinguish Lillian's 'match.' You might as well just surrender now!"

"Miss Sophia is right," Wang Xi replied with a gentle smile. "Water magic of this level is indeed not enough..."

***

Having said that, he curled his fingers into an empty claw, as if grasping an invisible blade, and slashed fiercely toward the match in the girl's hand.

——「Tidal Blade」

A spiraling pillar of water as thick as an arm burst forth, like a long blade unsheathed or a long whip lashing out, striking directly at the flame.

*Hiss, hiss, hiss!!*

The high-pressure, razor-sharp blade of water instantly came to a halt inches away from the flame, as if blocked by an invisible barrier, bursting into spray before evaporating into steam once more.

Amidst the swirling white vapor, the flame trembled violently.

Everyone present wore expressions of astonishment.

Wang Xi noticed that the match was burning faster now, consuming half its wooden stem in mere seconds.

*Hold on a little longer.*

Sensing his stamina draining away rapidly, he gritted his teeth and sustained the release of the water blade.

*Hiss, hiss, hiss—*

A few more breaths passed.

*Hiss!*

The flame finally extinguished, leaving behind only a wisp of blue smoke.

Wang Xi promptly ceased the release of the 「Tidal Blade」 and began to pant heavily.

"Hah..."

His face was pale, beads of sweat dotting his forehead.

Lillian released her index finger and thumb, letting a tiny piece of charred wood fall. She gently clapped her hands, the corners of her mouth curling upward.

"You win, Mister Gai."

*Ding!*

「Target defeated!」

「Do you wish to capture "Lillian's" ability?」

Wang Xi smiled as well, confirming the prompt.

Instantly, a profound blue light flashed across the white-dressed girl, and a distinctly denser, deep-blue orb of light emerged, sinking directly into the center of Wang Xi's brows.

He froze for a moment, followed by a surge of secret delight.

*Deep blue?!*

As expected of a golden-skull-tier strongest witch!

"How strange. Clearly there is no magic power in you, yet you can pull off such high-tier water magic..."

Sophia knitted her delicate brows and petted her lips.

"Hey! Do you have some kind of powerful magic treasure hidden on you?!"

"You could say that."

Wang Xi paused to catch his breath, shaking off the feeling of exhaustion and wiping the sweat from his brow as he smiled at the red-cloaked, twin-tailed girl.

"Miss Sophia truly has eyes like torches, seeing right through my little tricks."

"Hmph, obviously!" Sophia lifted her chin triumphantly.

At that moment, Lillian spoke up in a soft whisper:

"Mister Gai, will there be a chance to play again in the future?"

"Of course," Wang Xi nodded. "Once the trouble brought by Calvin is resolved... I will visit the Magical Forest often when I have free time."

Lillian kept her smile and murmured an affirmative response.

With all three witches defeated, Pinocchio nearby grew eager, repeatedly batting his eyes at Wang Xi. His animated expression made him look as though he had eaten poisonous mushrooms, amusing even the witches.

Deliberately ignoring him, Wang Xi instead turned his gaze toward the silent blond man standing behind Sophia.

"Although this game is called 'Hero Fights the Witches,' it's still early. Why don't we have more people join in and play a bit longer..."

Wang Xi rose politely and bowed to the wolf butler.

"As Miss Sophia's personal butler, Mister Igor must possess extraordinary strength. Let the next match be between the two of us. What do you say?"

"Not interest—"

Igor glanced at him indifferently and spoke.

Before he could finish, Sophia whipped her head around.

"Accept this fellow's challenge! Don't let him be so smug!"

The black leather shoes of the wolf witch tapped rhythmically against the floor with a clacking sound as she crossed her arms and issued her command:

"Igor, show him your true capability and win, lest some little chick thinks we're afraid!"

Igor lowered his head slightly.

"Yes, Lady Sophia."

With that, he stepped slowly forward, his posture rigid and upright as he calmly regarded the black-haired young man.

"How would Mister Gai like to compete?"

"Well..." Wang Xi feigned deep thought. "Suppose I were a villain preparing to do harm to Miss Sophia; you would surely kill me, wouldn't you?"

"Naturally," Igor replied coolly.

"Very well. I shall play the role of such a villain. Please, Mister Igor, leave the gingerbread house and approach from any direction. If I can perceive your location in advance, then you lose," Wang Xi smiled.

"Conversely, if I fail to guess..."

Before he could finish, the wolf butler placed a hand over his chest in a salute and turned to walk out of the gingerbread house.

Though he remained entirely silent, Wang Xi sensed a profound surge of confidence emanating from Igor. He also noticed the irrepressible smile at the corners of Sophia's lips. Evidently, she held absolute trust in Igor.

"Mister Igor, you have ten seconds. During this time, you may try any approach you wish. But once the time is up, Miss Sophia's safety will no longer be under your control," Wang Xi said with a joking tone.

The twin-tailed girl glared fiercely at him, on the verge of shouting a retort. Right at that moment, she noticed the black-haired youth closing his eyes, causing her lovely eyes to narrow as she muttered:

"Let's see where this little chick gets his confidence!"

——「Listen to Heartbeats」

This was a card Wang Xi had captured from the high-threat wanted criminal "Black Mamba" Park Hong from the main world, capable of detecting living creatures within a twenty-meter radius.

With his eyes closed, he listened intently.

In the darkness, aside from the heartbeat within the gingerbread house, there was another steady, pulsing red line on the eastern side of the exterior, quietly creeping closer.

*So fast...*

Sensing the red line flash, Wang Xi realized it had suddenly crossed a distance of more than ten meters, arriving directly behind him—at the southern side of the gingerbread house.

"Found you, Mister Igor," Wang Xi said, keeping his eyes closed with a smile. "You're at the back of the house."

"?! "

The blond man outside froze, a trace of confusion and surprise flashing in the depths of his eyes. He was certain he had made no sound whatsoever, failing to leak even the slightest breath of air, yet he had still been detected by the human inside...

Luck? Coincidence?

Igor lowered his gaze and shifted his feet.

His entire figure blurred, vanishing from the spot in the blink of an eye.

The next second—

"Found you again, Mister Igor," Wang Xi smiled, still keeping his eyes shut. "This time, it's the western side of the cabin."

"Found you..."

"The eastern side of the cabin."

"Southwest."

"Northeast."

As he accurately and unfailingly called out the direction of the wolf butler's approach time after time, the expressions of those inside the house grew increasingly astonished. Even they found it difficult to detect Igor when he was moving with serious stealth, yet Mister Gai had accomplished it with his eyes closed.

Could it be that his sense of hearing was exceptionally acute?

Even if it were acute, he was still nothing more than an ordinary human entirely devoid of magic power!

"Mister Igor, you're right outside the front door."

Wang Xi paused, a look of puzzlement crossing his face.

"You've stopped moving?"

Opening his eyes, he saw the biscuit door of the gingerbread house slowly swing open, revealing the blond man standing quietly outside.

Yet, compared to the composure he had worn when leaving, Igor now wore a desolate expression, his eyes filled with bewilderment. A thick aura of defeat seemed to shroud his entire being.

"I... I have lost."

*Ding!*

「Target defeated!」

「Do you wish to capture "Igor's" ability?」

Looking at the deeply demoralized appearance of the golden-haired wolf butler, Wang Xi felt a faint pang of guilt. He silently muttered a confirmation, and the blue orb of light flew from Igor's form, sinking into his own brow.

Igor strode over to Sophia, dropped to one knee, and lowered his head deeply:

"Lady Sophia, please kill this incompetent wolf of yours..."