Chapter 283: Escape

Rod suddenly jolted awake.

The familiar sky of terror still loomed, with two pale gray full moons hanging above.

"Ugh!"

Agony and weakness surged through his entire body.

Especially at his chest, where stabs of sharp pain came in waves.

He looked down and finally understood.

A large pruning shear was embedded in his chest, pinning him to the ground.

He cried out in pain and pressed his hand onto the long handle.

【The 'King of Polearms' has been successfully activated!】

【The Great Cultivator's Pruning Shears have been seized!】

【Effects: Impurity Removal, Toxin, Edge-Breaking, Soul-Binding, Defense Penetration, Bleeding, Paralysis, Qi Blade】

"Hmm?"

But Rod had no time to care, not even to check the details.

Enduring the pain, he yanked out the pruning shears, sat up, and hurriedly scanned the surroundings for the Great Cultivator.

Before he could find him, he spotted the location of the Botanical Garden from afar.

It seemed to be two or three kilometers away.

A drag mark stretched from there all the way to this spot; not far away lay the Great Cultivator, huddled in a shallow pit.

His single eye had already grown back.

His body was covered with countless claw marks, though none were deep, and the wounds inflicted by the spider legs had already healed somewhat.

He stared tightly at Rod and let out a cold, sneering snort.

As if to say, 'Your death will come soon.'

He extended his left hand toward the pruning shears.

No response.

For the first time, a look of shock appeared on his face.

He continued to reach out.

Still no response.

Rod let out a derisive chuckle.

He drove the pruning shears into the ground upside down and used them to support himself as he stood up.

"Now, it belongs to me."

Then he slashed fiercely at the opponent!

Two Qi Blades shot forth, crossing sharply at the Great Cultivator's neck.

Pfft—

They scraped two fairly deep bloody gashes across the opponent's skin.

However, it was far from enough to sever the neck.

The Great Cultivator didn't feel much pain, but his face was filled with utter disbelief.

It was the expression of someone whose house was being robbed, only for his own wife not to help but instead to hold him down.

In short, he had been NTR'd.

"Ugh, no matter how good a weapon is, it ultimately depends on the user's strength. But the claw marks..."

Rod checked the prompt.

【Paralyzing Claw Strike Stacks: 1351】

【Activate?】

Killing him seems impossible.

Then just stay there nicely.

"Activate."

The Great Cultivator instantly stiffened, falling into a paralyzed state.

He gritted his teeth, struggling desperately to resist, but to no avail.

He could only watch helplessly as this human took his weapon and turned to flee, his expression growing more and more grotesque.

Boom—

Rod slammed onto the ground; the violent impact made him cough up a mouthful of blood in pain.

"Without the spiritual essence of the 【Tree Blessing】, healing is still a bit slow."

The wounds on his body were all plagued by toxins and pestilence, making recovery extremely sluggish.

Fortunately, the 【Impurity Removal】 effect of the pruning shears helped.

He walked back into the Botanical Garden.

The spiritual essence of the Blood Marrow Tree immediately drilled into his body, instantly restoring most of the missing essence.

Then, from afar, he saw the 【Soul-Trembling Blade】 floating in the air; thirty-six demonic eyes opened simultaneously, steadily controlling the dozen or so Gardeners and Pest Beasts around them.

A few Gardeners had been in a state of fear for too long and had already triggered the instant-death effect.

Rod swung the pruning shears and chopped them to pieces one by one.

These pruning shears were much taller than him, and since the blade was not only on the inner side, they possessed considerable power even when closed.

He arrived where the staff was operating.

Sharon materialized.

Her face lit up with surprise, and the tail behind her hips wagged frantically.

She withdrew the Plague Domain, opened her arms, and leaped into Rod's embrace.

She buried her small face under his jaw, kissing him incessantly.

"Awesome!"

Rod couldn't help himself: "Who taught you that?"

"Demia taught me. She said you sometimes shout that word to express something very impressive."

"How long has that guy been spouting nonsense?"

"Fifteen seconds left! Run! Hahaha—"

Laughing, she jumped from his arms, grabbed Rod's hand, and vanished on the spot with 【Spatial Shift】.

Several consecutive leaps followed.

Almost the moment the two withdrew to a safe range, the 【Ultimate Annihilation Orb】 ritual triggered!

Only a low hum was heard.

In an instant, a gray-black energy sphere expanded to the size of a basketball court, enveloping the entire pond within the botanical garden.

The forces of collapse and disintegration acted wildly, decomposing everything wrapped inside into powder and ash.

With virtually no light pollution, it was far plainer than the giant spider leg on the front lines of the battlefield.

The energy sphere lasted about five seconds, then quickly dimmed and vanished completely.

Then, changes occurred within the botanical garden.

All plants withered at a speed visible to the naked eye, turning into gray-black mold that rapidly gathered at the location of the former sewage pond.

In a short while.

A seed, the size of an adult's head and emitting an ominous dim light, materialized.

Its shell consisted of layer upon layer of shriveled, wrinkled dark-green scales, covered in mottled mold spots and tiny cracks; between the scales, faint veins flickering with eerie blue light were occasionally visible.

Rod and Sharon quickly approached and stored it inside their spell satchel.

Almost simultaneously, the Plague Beast horde ahead let out restless roars and rushed back frantically!

The two wasted no more time.

They activated the ritual prepared long ago and returned to the Reality Dimension.

"Oh?"

Just as Rod was about to activate it, he saw a familiar figure stumbling and running not far away.

The Arachne, Watching Yuna?

Behind her, a Dark Elf missing one shoulder and one arm was in pursuit.

Sharon had intended to let him leave first before activating it herself.

Seeing him stop, she said, "What are you doing? Let's go."

"Ten seconds. I'm grabbing a person and a spider."

The Canine girl turned her head to look, her brows immediately furrowing: "You scoundrel with unchanged lecherous intentions! I checked before; Arachnes are failed evolutionary products with no reproductive organs! Even if you save her, you can't do anything with her!"

"Who said I want to do anything with her? Girls are for cherishing."

The words had barely left his lips.

Rod performed consecutive shadow steps, arriving beside the Arachne almost instantly.

Watching Yuna, whose body was tattered and broken, first showed an expression of despair, but upon clearly seeing Rod's face, she immediately cried out in surprise.

"Mr. Rod!!"

Rod winked at her and waved his pruning shears toward her rear.

【Giant Slash】.

Massive spiritual energy shot forth from the blade's tip, forming a colossal spiritual greatsword behind her.

The pursuing female Dark Elf was of the Seventh Tier; for some reason, she was missing one shoulder and one arm, covered in blood and in poor condition.

She didn't even have time to react; her expression still frozen in shock, the slash passed through her waist.

Splash—

Split in two.

Sharon 【Spatial Shifted】 over and quickly set up the ritual on the Arachne Watching Yuna and her companion on her back.

"Activate the ritual, immediately!"

Boom—

Her words were not very clear amidst the noisy clamor of the Plague Beast horde that had already pursued them to the spot.

"Let's scram!"

Everyone hurriedly activated the ritual and instantly vanished on the spot.

And almost the next moment, the Plague Beast horde, like a tidal wave, covered their former position layer upon layer.

(End of Chapter)