"Sir... Is this Mela here to cause you trouble?"

The Dawn Spell Society and the Twelve Witches' Council are at odds.

In such an obvious standoff, the librarian beside Ronald could hear it clearly.

So when he realized that Ronald was not being targeted by both factions at the same time, he naturally turned his hopeful gaze back:

"You've reached an agreement with these witches in advance, which is why they're here to meet you now?"

"I..." Ronald opened his mouth.

In fact, these actions were entirely the doing of the two groups, unrelated to him, cornered in the library at this moment.

Ronald wanted to honestly explain the situation to the librarian.

But when he saw the expectant look in the librarian's eyes, Ronald couldn't bear to confront him with such a reality.

So Ronald vaguely avoided the question and changed his phrasing:

"Simply put, I have a good relationship with the Twelve Witches' Council and have helped them greatly with something very important in the past. So even now, when facing the Dawn Spell Society, they are willing to send people to assist me."

The elderly librarian seemed to realize something and then relaxed:

"I see!"

"But since the Twelve Witches' Council is also here, you can rest assured. They happen to be the only organization in Carpen that can stand up to the Dawn Spell Society."

Ronald nodded:

"Yes, I'm aware of that..."

Inside the library doors, Ronald and the elderly librarian relaxed, even engaging in slightly leisurely conversation.

However, outside the library doors.

The Witch Mela and the Wizard Layton were already in a rather perilous state.

The Dawn Spell Society casters, who had arrived earlier, had already completed the initial preparation of their spell in the tense atmosphere. Now that people from the Twelve Witches' Council were intentionally provoking them, they could almost immediately complete their spell and launch an attack.

On the witch's side, however,

they were brazenly taunting the casters in front of them.

Although the fundamental purpose of this action was to protect Ronald and completely capture the attention of these casters, this attitude undoubtedly pushed the members of the Dawn Spell Society to the brink of taking immediate action.

"Mela, I'm saying this for the last time!"

In this situation, Layton from the Dawn Spell Society spoke with his last bit of composure:

"Take your people and leave now, and tonight I'll act as if nothing happened. This operation involves the Dawn Spell Society's confidentiality work on the original canon and cannot afford any mishaps!"

But Mela was not buying it at all; the witch even let a strong magic fluctuation surge within herself, showing no intent of retreat:

"Layton, then let me tell you this!"

"Today, no one from the Twelve Witches' Council will leave this street. Order will only restore with the rise of the sun tomorrow morning!"

"..."

"You forced my hand."

Confronted with such a response, Layton's voice did not diminish but rose instead.

After briefly stating his position, he threw out his prepared spell at the witch in front of him, loudly calling to his other companions behind him:

"Everyone, get to work!"

"We must complete the task today, and no one will stop us!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh —

Immediately, violent magic began to storm across the street.

The Dawn Spell Society, being an immensely large faction with widespread influence, naturally wields considerable power.

At Layton's command.

Curses, enhancements, and direct attack spells were unleashed by various casters, and these casters are well-trained experts, their seamless cooperation making this wave of attack exceptionally fearsome.

However, facing these attacks that normal people would undoubtedly shy away from.

Witch Mela did not care at all; she burst into arrogant laughter, with a hint of satisfaction in her voice:

"Hahaha!"

"Layton, that's more like it! Remember that you made the first move, don't think about twisting the facts afterward."

As soon as she finished speaking, Mela cast a spell with her hands.

The robust magic, almost reaching the level of an original canon spell, prepared by this witch, subsequently erupted on the side of the Twelve Witches' Council as well.

The reason for her fearless actions and the title of witch.

Lies in Mela's truly formidable strength.

Even facing the attacks of these elite casters from the Dawn Spell Society, this witch's defensive spell executed later managed to timely protect herself and her comrades, achieving the purpose of effectively blocking all attacks.

Boom, boom, boom —

Subsequently, the offensive and defensive spells started to collide violently on the street.

After the first exchange, other casters from both sides also sprang into action.

The sounds and flashes resulting from the explosion of spells caused a massive commotion, even lifting an entire area off the central street where the offensive and defensive spells met.

If this issue isn't repaired,

this street might not even function for basic passage by tomorrow.

"Mela, you crazy woman!"

"Whether I'm crazy is not for you to decide! Sisters, keep these guys contained on this street!"

The battle between the two sides progressed rapidly.

Since they've crossed paths for many years in the city of Carpen, they understand each other's spell capabilities well, knowing the most efficient approaches in a fight.

When distance is maintained, neither side can do much to the other.

Thus, the answer is clear — close the distance, engage in near combat.

This is the combat style chosen by those familiar with each other and the quickest resolution approach.

In little over ten seconds,

the Dawn Spell Society's casters and the Twelve Witches' Council's witches came into close quarters combat, resulting in a melee on the street.

Screams and cries of pain started to resound.

Upon changing combat tactics, injuries happened almost immediately, and casualties were expected to follow.

Bam!

Just as this was about to turn into a bloody conflict, the library door was suddenly shoved open from inside.

"The greatest improvements in productive power of labor, and the greater skill, dexterity, and judgment with which it is directed or applied, seem to have been the effects of the division of labor!"

Ronald emerged chanting the Unseen Hand spell, simultaneously activating his command language. After rendering everyone present immobile, Ronald continued:

"Enough, all of you, stop."

"There's no need for this to escalate to the point of fatalities. Sit down and talk properly."

"..."

For a moment, the street was utterly silent.

Forced by the control of the command language, all casters had no choice but to sit where they were. Even those who quickly broke free of the constraints did not dare to stand up immediately.

The reasons behind this were twofold: one, they were baffled by Ronald's initiative to walk out of the library;

and two, the overwhelming power Ronald displayed shocked them into recognizing that before them was a formidable entity, leaving them no courage to act rashly.