"O all-knowing and all-powerful God, your mercy is the brightest light in the world...... Praise you!"

This is the prayer after lunch, if this praise is spoken from the mouth of a clergyman of the Holy See, it may make people feel the slightest harmony, but if it is said from the mouth of a vampire who has lived for hundreds of years, it may have to make people secretly sigh: sure enough, the world is still too crazy!

"What a good lunch...... Thank you for your hospitality," Professor Hodd, who was sitting at the table, put down the knife and fork in his hand, looked at Dia and said with a smile, "Oh, I really didn't expect that the craftsmanship of Student Pallas was so good, compared to some people, ......" Speaking of this, he couldn't help but tremble a little.

Hearing a slight cold snort, Abel sitting next to her put her hand on her fair face and smiled in a threatening tone, "Ah, this [some people] can't ......be talking about me, is it?

"How is that possible!" Professor Hodd interrupted Abel categorically, glaring at Soth, and whispering, "You're right?"

"Forehead......" glanced at Ulrik, who couldn't figure out what was going on, and Soth and Dia nodded strangely.

"Hmph!" Abel snorted dissatisfiedly, then looked at Dia and said in a tone of deep envy, "But, it's really delicious, Student Pallas!"

"No," Dia lowered her head a little embarrassedly, and then as if she remembered something, she hurriedly said, "You can call me Dia, by the way, the water should be boiling, I'll make a pot ......of tea," she said, she stood up and hurried towards the kitchen.

"What a nice girl!" Abel said with a smile of approval.

"Yes, when I was in the academy, I was obedient and cap......able," Professor Hodd echoed heartily, and suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he said to Soth with a very serious face, "Good luck, little ghost!

"Hmph!" Abel snorted, stood up to Professor Hold's trembling eyes, and walked towards the kitchen, "I'll help you, Student Pallas...... Hmm, Dia!"

"How does this work...... Well, well, excuse me!" came Dia's voice from the kitchen.

Professor Hodd breathed a sigh of relief, and when he looked up, he saw Soth looking at him with stunned eyes, coughed, and said, "Actually, Abel is also very gentle......

"Really?" Soth asked rhetorically in a strange tone, apparently not believing Professor Hodd.

"Of course," Professor Hodd said in a tone that he couldn't even convince, and then, he sighed, looked up at South, and said in a steady tone, "I'm relieved to see that you're okay and doing well, Professor!"

"Professor Hodd......" Listening to those sincere words, Soth's mood was a little depressed, after all, in the three years of contact, Professor Hold's relationship with him was not as ordinary as that of professors and students, and professors over thirty years old have always treated Soth like their own children, and it was this feeling that made Soth's mood extremely heavy.

"Reoks ......"

"Hmm," as if guessing Soth's thoughts, Professor Hodd nodded silently and sighed in a low voice, "Completely destroyed, Reox...... We underestimate Argus, his power has surpassed that of ordinary archmages, and even the dean ......" As he spoke, Professor Hodd fell silent.

Feeling this oppressive atmosphere, Soth felt more and more uncomfortable in his heart, licked his lips, and said hesitantly, "Professor and Assistant Professor Abel...... Together?"

"Huh?" The atmosphere changed in an instant, and Professor Hodd scratched his head a little bewildered, and said embarrassedly, "This ...... Not together, that...... Anyway...... You get the idea, right?"

Listening to Professor Hodd's rambling recounting of what had happened, Soth felt a little better, pointed to the ring that Professor Hodd was wearing on his finger, and teased, "That's what happened, right?"

"Yes, yes," Professor Hodd scratched his head a little embarrassed, and then, as if he had come to his senses, he raised his hand and tapped Soth's head, and said angrily, "Hey, what kind of tone are you, little ghost!—is this what a student should say......?" Two underage imps actually live together......"

"Hey," interrupted Professor Hodd dissatisfiedly, and Soth said angrily, "Dia is an adult!"

"Oh, is it?" Professor Hodd whispered, with a playful smile on his face, "what about you?"

"Of course I ......"

"Of course what?"

"It's not like you think......" Shaking his head helplessly, Soth pointed to the old sofa in the living room and said, "I've been sleeping here all this time......"

"So what?"

"You!" Thoss stared at Professor Hodd with some irritation, and then the two of them laughed in unison.

"It's great to see you're okay......" Professor Hodd sighed as he looked at Soth again.

"Professor ......" looked deeply at Professor Hodd, and Soth felt a wave of guilt in his heart, and whispered, "If I had stayed at that time, maybe Reoks ......" Before he finished speaking, he heard a snap, and his head was hit hard by Professor Hodd.

"Hey, hey, what's the matter with your disdainful tone? It seems that Lavia is right, you are getting more and more arrogant now," propped up on the table and stared at Soth, Professor Hodd said angrily, "You want to say that dozens of professors in the academy are not as good as you are a little ghost, right? Don't forget, who begged for mercy in the first place, what [Professor, enough, it's okay today, right?] Who is here?"

"I ...... When have I begged for mercy?" said Soth with a little crying and laughing, but in retrospect, before Sloss's power was awakened, even if he used all his powers, he couldn't hurt Professor Hodd in the slightest.

"I really miss the beginning," Professor Hodd sighed a little self-deprecatingly, and then saw that Soth seemed to be about to explain something, raised his hand to interrupt him, and said in a serious tone, "Those bad experiences, we are irreparable, even if we return to that day, I think the old dean's mind will not change, and the thoughts of us professors will not change, it is the responsibility of professors to protect their students, you little devils just have to close your eyes and run to a safe place!"

Seeing that Professor Hodd opened his mouth, Soth said angrily, "How do you feel that you are not moved at all when you hear these words? It's really unpleasant......"

"Yo, does a little imp who is not yet an adult need me to be treated equally?" Professor Hodd said jokingly, and then he reached out and patted Soth on the head, and said solemnly, "Don't be bothered by such frivolous questions, or it will be a blasphemy to those who sacrifice!

Looking deeply at Professor Hodd, Soth was silent for a moment, then nodded heavily.

Professor Hodd smiled with satisfaction, and while looking around the room, he said casually, "Since that Argus guy took control of Sasson, the situation in the empire has become chaotic, and some ill-intentioned guys have also taken advantage of the current chaos to make some trouble, but it doesn't seem to have affected this yet......

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, it's just that the local authorities don't recognize the central power controlled by Argus, for all sorts of reasons, positions, interests, that's politics...... The current situation is just the fuse, it won't be long before the cities will fall into war, by the way, some time ago Sassen went to war against Operels, and those merchants have long been dissatisfied with Sassen and paid huge taxes to Sassen, but they have not been compensated accordingly, they are also waiting for such an opportunity......"

"Operels?" said Soth, stunned, "Isn't that Eren's hometown?"

"Yes," Professor Hodd nodded as a matter of course, and said with a smile, "Allen's father, I heard that he is a well-known local businessman...... Don't worry, Operiels is the most prosperous city in the Empire, and those merchants have armed an army with unimaginable wealth, even the Royal Knights can't help it for a while, I'm afraid they have ......been preparing for it for a long time," he said, he sighed slightly, and whispered in an inexplicable tone, "Argus, it's just that the contradictions that have been deeply buried in the Empire in the past have intensified, and it is the leadership of the Empire itself, like those Thrands, you have also encountered it, right?" This is nothing more than a contradiction between the leading class and the led class, the barbarians in the north heard that they also took this opportunity to prepare to attack the empire, and the other vassal countries took a wait-and-see attitude, the previous rule of the empire was indeed relatively tough and indifferent, and it was common sense to be retaliated against......"

"Will there be a war?" asked Soth hesitantly.

"Is it a large-scale war? maybe," Professor Hodder said in an inexplicable tone, stroking the table with his hand, "Now it seems that Argus's purpose is more terrifying than we think, he does not want to simply destroy the Empire, but wants to pull the entire Empire into the hell of endless war, in other words, what he wants to take revenge on is not the Empire itself, but the entire human world! As long as this guy is alive, this war has only begun, not ended...... Probably, when the entire human world completely collapses!"

"Argus ......" Soth was silent, he felt that Professor Hodd was not wrong, for he had seen in Argus's eyes several times an unforgettable hatred, not so much his hatred of the Empire, but of despair for the whole world.

"Phew, I really don't know what that guy thinks!" Professor Hodd sighed and shook his head, and when he turned around, he saw Soth with his head down and pondering something, so he reached out and patted his head, and said angrily, "Hey, this kind of thing is not what a little ghost like you should think about, the question you should think about should be how to deal with your current situation, right? Two little ghosts who don't know anything actually live in the same room...... If she knew about it, Ravia would cry!"

"Professor!" Soth glanced helplessly at Professor Hodd, and then asked curiously, "By the way, Professor, how did you know we were here?"

"Isn't that easy?" Professor Hodder said with a shrug as he pointed in the direction of the kitchen, "The astrologers of Vanderle will easily find you!" he said, lowering his voice and saying mysteriously, "So, if you have the opportunity in the future, you must learn something about astrology, at least how to avoid this kind of tracking magic......"

"Huh?" Soth looked at Professor Hodder inexplicably, and just as he wanted to ask a question, he heard a sneer quietly sound behind him.

"Yo, what a competent professor......"

Soth subconsciously turned his head, only to see Abel coming over with a plate, and said with a smile, "What do you do with this kind of anti-tracking magic? Can you explain it? Hod Kendi?"

Looking at Abel's threatening eyes, Professor Hodd sneered, "This ...... It's not ...... There's nothing wrong with learning a little more useful knowledge, right? Maybe you'll need it later......"

"Yes!" said Abel with a playful smile, leaning down, and lowering his voice, "For example, if you want to get rid of a person and don't want to be tracked, you can use this kind of knowledge, right?

"I didn't ...... How is that possible!"

"Really?" Abel sneered.

"Of course!" Professor Hodd's mouth twitched, and he winked at Soth as if asking for help.

"Ahem," looked at Professor Hodd's pleading eyes, Soth coughed and diverted the subject, "That'...... Speaking of which, Professor, why did you come here?"

"Hmph!" Abel snorted dissatisfiedly at Soth, and taking advantage of this opportunity, Professor Hodd hurriedly said, " We came here this time, mainly to see how you are doing, after all, what is detected by astrology is better than seeing it with your own eyes, and secondly, the situation has become more and more unstable recently, as professors, we can't let you two children be alone outside, we want to pick you up to Vanderle, Vander's forbidden enchantment and defensive magic array are left over from ancient times, and it is the safest place for now, and it is to see if you are lazy as a little ghost......"

"Huh?"

"Why do you have such an expression?" Professor Hodd said seriously as he looked at Soth with some amusement, "Soth, you'd better have an awareness in your heart, within seven days, I want you to completely master the flame flash!"

"Flame Flash?" Soth asked, stunned, "I've mastered that magic!"

"Can it be instantaneous?" Professor Hodd asked solemnly, "I just mean that I don't give you time to prepare, so that whenever you want, you can use it immediately!"

Taking the tea from Dia, Soth shook his head in astonishment and said in surprise, "This ...... I'm not a professor...... Instantaneous ......"

"Hehe," Professor Huo De smiled slightly, took the tea handed by Abel, and said in a low voice, "Don't try to hide it from me, your magic power is not low at all, carrying that powerful dark power, so that your own magic power has also improved significantly, the reason why it can't reach instantaneous is because you little ghost has never practiced wholeheartedly, and in the past six months, you haven't practiced either, right?"

Seeing that Soth's expression was a little embarrassed, Dia couldn't help but defend him, "That's not it, Professor, I told Soth not to use magic, recently various cities are expanding their armies, if it is known that it is a magician......"

"Well, I've heard about these things too, and that's why I'm bringing you to Vander," Professor Hodd paused, looked at Soth and teased, "What a nice girl, nice little ghost, your life is too comfortable, isn't it? I don't want to be discovered by others, just give me the mastery of the enchantment! Don't use this lame excuse to perfunctory me, in short, in the next seven days, you will give me a thorough mastery of Flameflash, and on this basis, I will teach you the real Flameflash!"

"The real Flame Flash?" Thoth asked in surprise with a surprised expression on his face, "Didn't I learn Flame Flash before?"

Shaking his head, Professor Huo De said with a bit of sarcasm, "Don't be arrogant to me, little ghost, your study was just the basics at that time......

As soon as the words fell, I heard Abel sneer and say, "That's really nice, what is just the basics, and you have only recently comprehended the transformation and application of magic, right?"

"Hey......" Professor Hodd looked at Abel with a wry smile and whispered, "In front of my students, why don't you save some face for me......"

Did the professor learn this recently...... Looking at the professor with a bitter face in front of him, Soth's heart couldn't help but feel a little warm, thinking about it, he suddenly had a question, and asked curiously, "But why is it seven days? Professor, didn't you say that you want to take us to Vander?

Without warning, Abel fell silent, and her beautiful face receded in an instant, and she sat down pale, holding her cup in trembling hands.

"Well...... Because Professor I still have some personal matters to do," Professor Hodd patted her hand lightly with his hand and whispered in an inexplicable tone, "So, I can only ask Abel to take you to Vander...... Abel?"

Under the puzzled eyes of Soth and Dia, Abel nodded slowly, it was hard to imagine that the witch of Vander would have such a quiet and obedient side.

Looking at this comfortable and warm scene, Dia couldn't help but feel a little envious.

"That's nice......"

Sure enough, over the next seven days, Professor Hodder trained Soth rigorously, and the rigor was outrageous.

The location was at the foot of a nearby mountain, where Professor Hodd had laid an enchantment to avoid detection, and for the rest of the day, from morning to night, except for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Professor Hodd barely left any time for Soth to rest.

In the first three days, Professor Hodd still trained Thus according to the previous tutorials, but the intensity was unprecedentedly harsh, the condensation and control of the fire element, and the time spent in this regard, these are naturally needless to say, and Professor Hodd will also cast magic to interfere with Thoss halfway, you must know that he is not a magic like a small fireball, but a flame flash, from the perception of magic fluctuations to the formation of magic, there is almost no pause during the period.

"Do you want to avoid my flame flash just because of that, little ghost?

"Don't you already have the flicker? why not?"

"What? can't you cast a flash spell while condensing the fire elemental? What are you kidding! It's just that you don't have enough concentration!"

"Leave all the boring distractions behind me! A magician who only knows how to attack his opponent but can't protect himself well is not a qualified magician, and vice versa!"

"Use your mental power to sense the fluctuations of my magic power, there is no magic in the world without fluctuations, feel the subtle changes of the elements and magic in the air, and guess what kind of magic I am casting...... What are you doing? Can you keep up with the speed of magic with your eyes? Will it take six months to regress to such an extent? Give me a good sense of it!--The requirements for you are very low, and you don't have to spend time guessing what magic I will perform, what else do you want?"

In Professor Hold's words one after another, the panting Soth could only escape with flash magic at best, and the condensed fire element was drained again and again under the Professor's interference.

What is the low demand? Is there a professor who flashes with a flame while training his students?

Indeed, if it was just an ordinary fireball, Soth could easily do both, but if it was a flame flash, he couldn't do it.

After all, the speed of the flame flash was too fast, as if Professor Huo De didn't need to condense the fire element at all, and as soon as he raised his hand, the rapid flames appeared without warning.

On the fourth day, Thor finally got a glimpse of what Professor Hodd called the real Flame Flash, a magic that even the Professor had only recently mastered.

The first few steps are no different from ordinary flame flashes, and the only one that has reached the level of qualitative change is the last step: the previous flame flash in the end is an instant explosion in exchange for powerful lethality, but the improved flame flash is even more terrifying, it is actually to condense again at the moment of the final explosion, and use a concept similar to secondary superposition to obtain more powerful burst speed and explosion damage.

And the final damage effect is no longer burn or burn, but incredible evaporation.

Soth saw Professor Hodd use a new flame flash to open a circular hole in a huge stone, and the rest of the stone didn't even have any high temperature that had been hit by the flames, which meant that the temperature of the flames was not wasted in the slightest, and it was all concentrated on attacking the target, even in the entire wizarding world, it was an unbelievable thing.

While they were training, Abel and Dia had been watching from the side, unlike Dia, who sometimes exclaimed and sometimes was relieved, Abel's mood seemed to be very heavy.

Attentive Dia, you can see the deep sadness in her eyes.

"What's wrong? Sister Abel? Are you feeling unwell?"

"No ......"

Seeing Abel standing there quietly, quietly looking at Professor Hodd, quietly without saying a word, Dia was a little puzzled.

"Phew, it's time to get dinner for those two guys, let's go, Dia!"

"Oh......"

(To be continued)