"Looking for someone?" Austin's calm voice emerged from behind Marco, causing him to spin around in shock.
He then froze in fear when he saw the Fourth Prince standing before him with two glowing whips, in his hands, crackling wildly with lightning.
But what really caught Marco's attention was the little spirit smiling up at him.
Glancing down at the little pumpkin-headed creature before him, Marco's first instinct was to conjure an ice spear against the little spirit.
But just before he could launch an attack, Austin lashed his whips forward, and a surge of electricity burst out, splitting Marco's body in half.
Seeing this, the rest of the mercenaries gulped in fear.
Not only had the fourth prince killed a Fourth Order Swordsman, but he had a spirit fighting alongside him as well.
Then, didn't that mean the fourth prince had somehow managed to tame it?
The mercenaries all had the same thought, but none of them cared to find out if Austin could really tame a spirit or not.
The only thing they cared about was their safety, and so they tried to spread out through the forest, but every single one of them was quickly dealt with by Sue, Leo, Lina, and Mira.
Seeing that all of the mercenaries had been taken care of, Little PP hopped in place with glee as a huge smile was pasted on his face.
He was proud of how he had successfully played his part and was hoping that Austin would praise him.
Of course, Austin understood the expectations of his little pumpkin, so he crouched down in front of the little guy and slowly began to pet his head.
Lina and Mira also walked over and started playing with the little pumpkin as well, as they showered him with praises and pets.
The chubby little pumpkin was so happy, and Austin couldn't help but smile at how his wives were so playful with the little spirit.
But while Austin was quietly watching his wives, he suddenly heard Sue's voice, calling out to him.
"Austin?"
He swiftly turned around and asked. "Aunt Sue, what is it? Is everyone alright?"
"Yes, they are. Thanks to your plan, we suffered zero casualties."
Austin had been the one to suggest that they hide behind the trees so they could lay an ambush for Marco and his men. But Sue had also noticed some strange things from Austin as well, and she wanted him to explain what was going on to her.
And the first occurrence that she needed an explanation for above everything else was the spirit standing behind him.
Sue instinctively looked behind him to see Lina and Mira playing with the chubby little pumpkin.
Based on what she could see, it seemed that this wasn't the first time Lina and Mira had seen the little spirit.
They also seemed to be close to it.
And this meant that Austin's wives had clearly been spending some time with the spirit before today, but Sue couldn't help but wonder why Austin had never once spoken to her about the existence of the little pumpkin and where it had come from.
Seeing the crestfallen look on his aunt's face, Austin instantly understood what was troubling her, so he leaned over to her ear and whispered a few things to her.
A few moments later, Sue's eyes widened in surprise, and she whispered. "You've awakened your mother's bloodline?"
Austin nodded, and Sue pondered over what he had told her.
From what she had just heard, she realized that Austin's awakened abilities had allowed him to not only summon spirits but to tame them as well.
Clearly, this ability was different from that of his predecessors, who were only able to summon spirit items or artifacts, but it was definitely a unique and powerful ability nonetheless.
However, the little spirit wasn't the only thing she had noticed today.
Sue had also noticed that Austin was now able to cast both illusion and lightning magic, but even Austin couldn't explain how he was able to cast two different types of magic.
Of course, Sue had heard stories about rare exorcists who were capable of casting two different types of elemental magic, but they were very few and far between.
But, Sue couldn't help but be proud of her cute little nephew, who was now one of those few talented and legendary individuals.
However, that wasn't the end of it, as her jaw dropped even more when Austin informed her that he could actually cast three, and not just two, different kinds of magic.
Three different kinds of magic?
That wasn't just rare.
It was unheard of!!!
But it also meant one thing.
Her adorable little nephew wasn't just a prodigy.
He was a generational genius!!
Sue couldn't believe that her little prince had such talent and still chose to hide it from his beautiful Aunt.
'He'll definitely have to be scolded, and reminded never to keep anything from his aunt again,' Sue uttered in her thoughts as she giggled internally.
Of course, she wasn't going to do anything outrageous like forcing him to tell her every little secret that he had.
She understood that the little prince was growing up, and it was entirely natural for him to keep a few things to himself.
So she was happy to respect his privacy, but she would be even happier if he shared more things with her in the future.
After all, they were family, and there was nothing about the prince that could ever allow her to think less of him in any way.
Austin was her adorable little nephew, and she was going to do everything in her power to support him, especially now that she knew how special he was, with his ability to cast different elemental magic.
Pushing this thought aside, Sue decided to let Austin rest with his wives while she went to attend to the other retainers.
Some of them still had expressions of fear on their faces.
It was understandable, because even though Little PP had just helped them, he was still a spirit, and it was a fear that had been instilled in most people from their childhood.
But Sue approached them calmly, reassuring them that as long as they remained loyal to the Fourth Prince, they had nothing to fear from the spirit.
She further laid emphasis on the fact that Austin's spirit would never hurt anyone unless they betrayed him.
And finally, she warned them not to speak a single word of what had happened tonight to anyone.