Chapter 98 : Chapter 98

Chapter 98. Evading

Welinte struggled to block a heavy downward slash with her greatsword before drawing her longsword to counterattack.

She was gasping for breath. The opponent’s strength was simply too great. Every time she blocked an attack, she had to use all her strength, leaving her with no chance to recover.

Two other Spirit Realm explorers lay nearby. They were already on the ground, several wounds visible on their bodies.

Her opponent was obviously not the kind of ordinary soldier Fulan had encountered.

Embedded in his robe was a large red stone, marking him as someone of higher status than the regular guards.

Luca was the captain of the guard unit. After drinking the Divine Water, he had gained strength far beyond that of ordinary soldiers, which was why the priests had granted him the title of guard captain.

Unlike the other guards, he was not eager to defeat his opponents quickly and drag them away.

This was one of his personal hobbies—playing with his prey. Now that the other two Spirit Realm explorers had fallen, Welinte no longer had the ability to threaten him.

He had no urgency to capture all the outsiders and take them away. Instead, he patiently waited for Welinte’s stamina to run out.

Whenever his prey collapsed from exhaustion and he slowly approached them, an uncontrollable pleasure would rise in his heart.

This was a symptom that had appeared after he drank the Divine Water.

He had once asked the priests about it. They had simply told him that this was the price of the power he had gained. There was no need to restrain himself—he could simply indulge the urge.

Because of that, he felt no hurry to complete the task the priests had assigned long ago: capture any outsider who appeared and throw them into prison, regardless of whether they resisted.

Welinte barely managed to deflect another horizontal slash from Luca. She knew that her stamina was nearly exhausted, so she had to launch a decisive attack now.

Taking advantage of the brief moment before Luca initiated his next strike, she released one hand from her sword hilt and extended it toward him.

“Lightning Impact!”

A flash of lightning burst from her palm and struck Luca’s chest.

What happened next was completely beyond her expectations.

The Lightning Impact did cause damage, but the effect was limited. It blasted a large tear in Luca’s cloth robe, and the red stone embedded beside it was chipped and partially shattered.

However, the exposed skin beneath remained completely unharmed, as though no attack had struck him at all.

Luca frowned.

He had not expected these outsiders to possess such tricks. Fortunately, after drinking the Divine Water, his body had become incredibly tough. If it had been an ordinary soldier, they would not have possessed such strong defenses.

Welinte’s attack ruined his amusement.

The responsibility assigned by the priests resurfaced in his mind.

He rotated the sword in his hand, turning it sideways. He decided that the next strike would use his full strength, rendering the opponent unable to resist. After that, he would drag all three of them to prison.

At that moment, however, he suddenly heard the sound of something cutting through the air behind him, accompanied by a wave of heat.

By the time he reacted, it was already too late.

The Divine Water had not greatly enhanced their reaction speed. When they faced attacks, they usually relied on their defenses to withstand them directly.

He turned his head slightly and heard a loud BOOM.

A fireball exploded behind him, releasing searing heat. His skin turned red from the scorching blast, and the cloth on his back burned open, revealing a back marked with a few shallow wounds.

For the first time since drinking the Divine Water, he felt pain again.

He turned his head but could not determine where the attack had come from.

So he turned around completely, placing his back toward Welinte.

The woman behind him could hardly injure him, but the hidden attacker who had not yet appeared could burn his skin with fireballs. Therefore, defending against that unseen enemy was the correct choice.

“Should we bring those two along?”

The voice came from behind him. It was Fulan speaking.

The sudden voice startled Luca so badly that a bead of cold sweat rolled down his forehead. He had not sensed how the opponent had approached him at all.

He quickly turned his head and assumed a defensive posture.

Welinte looked at Fulan in surprise.

She had clearly seen what Fulan had just done.

Fulan had cast Fireball from the rooftop of a nearby building and then leapt down.

While in the air, Fulan had glided forward as if floating, passing directly over Luca from above and to the side.

When she reached the space above Welinte’s head, she suddenly descended sharply and landed beside her almost silently.

It was as though she had completely ignored the inertia of falling through the air. After landing, she regained her balance almost instantly.

The movement clearly defied normal physical principles.

Welinte suppressed her shock for the moment and answered Fulan’s question.

“No need. Let us just leave. I only happened to encounter them.”

She was not lying.

The three of them had cooperated only because they were facing Luca, such a powerful enemy. Now that Fulan had arrived, she naturally intended to leave with her true teammate.

Besides, the two people lying on the ground could no longer stand.

If they tried to take them along, they would most likely need to defeat Luca first.

Even though she believed that with Fulan’s strength they could defeat Luca together, there was no need to take that risk.

Why not simply run?

Those two could serve as a rearguard.

After all, the goal of passing the Spirit Realm trial was to save this city. With no information at all, fighting recklessly would only waste time. Gathering information should come first.

“Alright. Let us find a quiet place and discuss our strategy.”

A fireball formed in Fulan’s hand. She threw it directly toward Luca just as he was about to turn around.

Luca had no choice.

Although the Divine Water granted them immense strength and defenses that ordinary blades could hardly pierce, it did not grant them lightning-fast reflexes or agile bodies.

The fireball exploded in front of him. Enduring the pain, he waited for the flames to fade.

By the time the firelight disappeared, all he saw were the two women fleeing in the distance.

Judging from their speed, he knew he could not catch up with them.

Luca turned his gaze toward the two people still lying on the ground.

They had crawled a short distance, trying to escape. Unfortunately, Luca’s earlier attacks had likely broken their bones. They could barely exert any strength and had not managed to crawl very far.

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“Slo… slower…”

Welinte panted heavily as she struggled to keep up with Fulan. It looked as if she might collapse at any moment.

She had just fought against Luca, an overwhelmingly powerful opponent, and immediately afterward had to flee at full speed. Her stamina had not recovered at all.

“Then let us rest for a moment.”

Seeing Welinte in that condition—and noticing that they had reached a deserted alley—Fulan made the suggestion.

Welinte finally released the breath she had been holding. She leaned against the wall, supporting herself with her hands on her knees while gasping for air.

After she had recovered a little, Fulan asked,

“What should we do now?”

Fulan herself had not participated in many trials before. At the moment, she was not entirely sure what the next step should be, so she asked Welinte, who seemed more experienced.

Welinte took a deep breath before speaking.

“Lai, I think I understand why the son of the ‘Gray Dragon’ joined this trial. He came specifically for this one.”