Chapter 251: Wolf Mouth Clamping

Fear.

A strong and primitive emotion derived from human instinct when facing "danger."

It might initially come from the direct input of senses, and later extend to the subjective spiritual perspective through imagination and memory.

What did Cornell see, or rather, feel?

It was a cold, ancient, oppressive feeling carrying pure malice.

Every strand of air around him was like a solid lead block, pressing on every inch of his skin.

This was not the roaring thunder from the edge of the sky, nor was it the bone-chilling coldness of the falling rain itself.

But accompanied by the rising wolf howl and swaying mane, a darker, deeper fear.

"Imminent disaster," regarding survival, regarding seeking life, the alarm in his heart had already been pulled to the highest level.

His golden medium-long hair was soaked by the rain, sticking to his cheeks in a messy and sloppy way, his pale, bloodless lips were slightly open, and one could vaguely see scorching mist like vitality leaking from them;

His nostrils were flapping and expanding uncontrollably, and his pupils were solidified like those of a dead person.

Cornell stared straight ahead.

At this moment, the black-haired young man's pitch-black, cold, and sharp eyes seemed to gradually overlap with the hideous wolf eyes that were looming in the rain curtain behind him.

Turning into two deep, pitch-black, pure dark, void holes that seemed to be able to swallow everything, ruthlessly and cruelly taking his body, will, and soul into them.

The tide of death intent spread silently, turning into cold palms that grabbed his heart in an instant.

In a trance, those blurred memories buried in the bottom of his heart gradually floated to his mind under the scouring of the tide of fear.

It was a terrifying horror fairy tale told by an old woman whose face was full of wrinkles like rotten wood, on a quiet night shortly after he could remember, which made him unable to sleep all night;

It was the first time he came to the horse farm, being held tightly by the reins and lifted high, the shadow shrouded in the neighing sound, and above his head, that pair of horse hooves stained with mud and grass clippings.

Past traumas and memories permeated his heart.

Fear was gradually escalating into despair and panic.

"Huff... huff..."

Every difficult breath Cornell took was like pulling a rotten and broken bellows.

Accompanied by the thick bloody smell filling his nasal cavity, was the burst of intense pain from the huge wound on his chest.

His whole body muscles were tightened like rocks, and he instinctively wanted to grab the knight's heavy sword that had fallen silently and was inserted upside down in the wet mud, engraved with the family motto.

But his fingers only twitched convulsively, scratching and grabbing at the cold sword hilt in vain, just like cotton dipped in water, soft and unable to exert any strength.

His arms felt as if they were filled with heavy mercury, and the arms that once swung the sword like the wind couldn't exert any strength at all.

Cornell wanted to run away.

Whatever family honor, whatever desire for the path of Transcendence... all distracting thoughts were thrown behind him under the effect of the survival instinct.

And just as the negative emotions in his brain intensified and he tried to drive his body to turn and run away.

The last bit of reason from years of knight training and the muscle memory developed in dealing with crisis situations surfaced in his heart.

Gritting his teeth, his five fingers gripped tightly.

The knight's heavy sword was lifted high with both hands and subconsciously blocked in front of him.

"Clang!"

The crisp sound of metal collision erupted in the rain.

Dazzling sparks flashed and disappeared.

The black-haired young man who was standing far away just now arrived in front of him in the blink of an eye, and the sharp wind when the iron-gray longsword swung seemed to want to tear his only remaining will to pieces.

Having already suffered a serious injury under Laosen's 【Residual Sun Blood Ambition】 desperate strike, he had only barely stabilized his injury by relying on healing potions.

Now falling into a "Fear" state under the impact of 【Tooth Hunter】, Cornell's actual combat strength was almost weakened to the lowest point.

He was just relying on his physical instinct and muscle memory to fight with Xia Nan.

The special ability endowed by 【Silver-Plated Knight】, a layer of flowing silver-white metal spread rapidly on the surface of his skin—this could bring him defensive capabilities far exceeding other professionals.

But before it could spread throughout her entire body, she noticed a flaw deliberately exposed by the opponent before her—a flaw she would have easily seen through at a glance in the past.

At this moment, it made him subconsciously flip his wrist, lift his longsword, and swing it with all his might toward that "flaw."

"Hum..."

The sword hilt did not transmit the familiar tactile sensation of the sword blade cutting through armor and tearing flesh and blood as imagined.

Replacing it was a strange, awkward feeling of cutting into cotton, with no place for the force to be vented.

Under the sword blade, it was not flesh or iron armor, but a semi-transparent shield emitting ochre-red brilliance.

The knight's heavy sword slashed onto it, leaving only layers of energy ripples like ripples, unable to penetrate even a tiny bit, and the next second it slid down along the smooth and round arc of the shield's surface.

His whole person also lost strength, falling into the stiff state after swinging the sword and before retracting it.

"Bad!"

A cold chill suddenly rose in Cornell's heart, the danger alarm sounded, and he only felt that something was wrong. ===== CHAPTER 252 =====