The Wizard of Fairy Tale World

Chapter 131: The Eastern Witch’s Secret Weapon

Before the soldiers at the front could respond, a mysterious man stepped forward, cutting in first. He called out to the young man in the middle of the formation, draped in a silver-white cloak atop his steed.

“Wow, Lord Rhine! I finally get to see you! I’m so moved, so incredibly moved. Just to confirm—you are Lord Rhine, right?”

“Uh?”

Rhine looked at the man, raising an eyebrow but neither affirming nor denying the question.

At the same moment Rhine uttered his "uh," the gourd in the man's hand suddenly twitched. Its mouth snapped open, aiming directly at the young man on horseback!

“Hahaha, you’ve fallen for it.”

The man jerked his head up, the sudden motion throwing back his hood, revealing tanned skin and a thin mustache.

Rhine recognized that face.

Magrito!

At that instant, the gourd in Magrito’s hand trembled violently as it pointed at Rhine.

With a sharp whoosh, Rhine’s body transformed into a swirl of blue smoke and was sucked into the gourd.

“Hahahahahahaha! Just wait until you melt inside!”

Magrito, triumphant, sealed the gourd and burst into laughter, as if he could already see Rhine dissolving into liquid within.

Back then, when you won that divination contest with a mermaid’s help, did you ever think this day would come? he thought gleefully.

“Something’s wrong! Lord Sage has been attacked!”

The soldiers immediately drew their bows, preparing to shoot Magrito. Meanwhile, Aurora, on another steed, had already unsheathed her longsword and pointed it at him.

“Farewell, I won’t be keeping you company any longer.”

Magrito snapped his fingers.

With a boom, thick black smoke erupted from his body, spreading in all directions.

“Cough, cough, cough.”

By the time the smoke cleared, Magrito was gone.

This Middle Eastern magician—now the chief court mage of Enderland—had only ever targeted Rhine from the start.

As for the so-called “incredibly strong” beautiful girl beside Rhine, whom the Eastern Witch had warned him about, Magrito hadn’t even bothered with her.

No matter how strong this so-called ‘super warrior’ is, it won’t help if she has no means of long-distance magical communication or teleportation!

Now that Magician Rhine had been captured, she was completely immobilized. She had no way to track Magrito or rescue Rhine, nor could she rush to the sea to assist the Queen. She was utterly useless—a transparent bystander.

Aurora sat atop her horse, gazing at the empty saddle where Rhine had been moments ago, watching Magrito vanish.

She didn’t panic. She didn’t lash out in frustration or rush around searching for Rhine’s captor.

Instead, she let out a quiet sigh of relief, the corners of her lips curling slightly.

Her mission was complete.

“Truly worthy of being the Eastern Witch’s treasured artifact, hoarded for years. A shame it can only be used once.”

“It’s somewhat similar to the iron flasks we use to seal away divine spirits.”

Deep in the forest, Magrito grinned from ear to ear as he cradled the yellow gourd in his hands.

In this land, a powerful magician’s strength didn’t just come from their own magic—it was built upon many layers of accumulation: vast knowledge, talented subordinates, loyal mystical creatures, and, of course, treasured magical artifacts.

As one of the five core members of the Coven, the Eastern Witch possessed just such a powerful magical artifact.

Originally, having lost one of her Silver Shoes, she had no means to return to the Land of Oz in the near future. No matter how many treasures she had stored there, they were useless.

But for today’s plan, Magrito had lent the Eastern Witch a flying carpet, allowing her to cross the Great Desert in just a few days. She successfully returned to the Eastern region of Oz and retrieved this gourd.

According to the Eastern Witch, she had once emptied her entire hoard of resources as a witch and paid a tremendous price to acquire this artifact from none other than the leader of the Coven.

“This relic comes from the Far East. Just aim the gourd at someone and call their name. If they respond in any way—whether answering directly, turning their head, grunting, or even making an unconscious facial expression or movement—they will be sucked into the gourd.”

“In less than two hours, the person inside will dissolve into blood.”

“Even ordinary spatial-distorting teleportation magic can’t break out of it.”

“The only downside is that it can only be used once. It’s my ultimate trump card.”

“I originally prepared it in case of a power struggle within the Coven—to deal with Black Witch Maleficent and that Middle Eastern Witch.”

That was how the Eastern Witch had described the gourd to him.

“Why only guard against those two? Are they the strongest?” Magrito had asked with a smirk. “Aren’t you afraid of the Coven’s leader, the one who gave you this gourd?”

At the mention of the mysterious leader of the Coven, the Eastern Witch’s expression darkened.

She scowled and replied slowly,

“If she wants to kill me, no amount of preparation will make a difference.”

Inside the gourd.

The space was dim, damp, and stifling, with an overwhelming stench. A thick, black liquid flowed across the ground.

Rhine stood inside the bottle, listening to Magrito’s laughter outside, his expression calm.

“This truly is a fascinating artifact.”

He didn’t even try to escape. Instead, he wandered the dark space curiously, tapping the gourd’s walls here and there.

He could sense the air around him was thick with malice, a sinister force that was growing stronger with time, attempting to consume him.

“If I stay here, in about an hour, I’ll probably dissolve into blood.”

Pulling out a crystal ball, Rhine estimated the time. Yet his face remained indifferent.

Outside, Magrito laughed even louder upon hearing Rhine’s voice from within the gourd.

“Hey, got any last words?”

He shook the gourd twice. It was silent inside.

“How boring.” Magrito shrugged, placing the gourd on the ground and watching it intently, waiting for any signs of resistance from Rhine.

Around him, over a hundred elite Enderland warriors stood ready, weapons in hand, their formation tight.

These were veterans who had battled against magicians and terrifying beasts alike. Even within the empire, they were considered the best of the best.

Now, over a hundred fully armed warriors were standing in rigid vigilance—watching a single gourd on the ground.

The sight was utterly ridiculous.

Yet it was proof of just how much Magrito respected this opponent.

“I wonder how you’ll try to escape, Sage of the Rose Kingdom and White Kingdom.”

Magrito muttered under his breath, eyes locked on the gourd.

In this plan, his mission was simple—

Take down Magician Rhine at all costs. Guard the gourd. Eradicate any chance of his escape.

“If my timing is right, then on the mist-shrouded sea, the hunt should have already begun.”

Magrito smiled, tilting his chin up to gaze at the cloudless blue sky overhead.