Chapter 294: This Is a Trap!

Daniz forced his waist and back, then suddenly flipped from the ground to stand up.

He cautiously looked toward the dock direction; there a thick smoke was rising, the one he had created during his earlier battle with Maiweit.

The earlier fight had caused quite a commotion; "Steel" shouldn't be able to catch up any time soon. Daniz breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

Almost as he began to relax, he heard the cold, stiff voice of Ge Er Man·Si Pa Luo:

"He's coming."

"Who's coming?" Daniz reflexively retorted, his body suddenly stiffening.

He nervously glanced around, trying to spot the hidden "Steel" Maiweit.

After a moment of looking, he found no suspicious figure; he relaxed again, thinking it was just Ge Er Man·Si Pa Luo playing with him.

He opened his mouth, wanting to mutter a few curses.

Suddenly, he caught sight of the direction he had just come from; a blur of a sprinting figure was rapidly approaching.

Its speed surpassed even the peak of a steam locomotive, leaving a vague after‑image behind it.

"'Steel' Maiweit! He actually chased after us! Is this guy crazy?"

"This guy is a great pirate worth 6,000 pounds!"

As he spoke, a crimson flame flared in his hand. Damn it! He hoped the cold‑blooded Ge Er Man·Si Pa Luo would be drawn by Steel's bounty, otherwise he wasn't a match for that guy.

Ke Lai En ignored the slightly panicked Daniz beside him, solemnly tossing the suitcase he held under a roadside tree to keep it out of the upcoming battle's reach.

This guy is really troublesome, but he's rich: "Steel" 6,000 pounds, "Flame" 3,000 pounds; he needs to pay me extra, hmm, 10,000 pounds then.

As the thought floated, dark‑gold scales appeared on the glove on his left hand, and his pupils suddenly elongated.

His gaze tightly followed that swiftly moving figure; an invisible spiritual force burst forth, the psychologist's "Rage" directly ignited Maiweit's emotions.

A massive fear spread in his heart, fear of that prominent figure of the Rose School, and fear of the silent, out‑of‑control deaths of the crew aboard the Blood‑Flesh Tree ship.

Maiweit's head tilted slightly back; the huge emotional surge disturbed his mind and stiffened his body.

His forward lunge froze, and his body, driven by inertia, flung several meters ahead.

The Tu Ba Ge, tossed together with the suitcase under the roadside tree by Ke Lai En, shook its head and stood up; it looked around, then pulled a pale‑yellow folded paper figure from the small black cloth pouch slung across its body.

Ke Lai En noticed Tu Ba Ge's movement and cast a puzzled glance at it.

He only saw Tu Ba Ge infuse spirit into the paper figure, then fling it away.

The paper figure rapidly expanded and twisted in the air, turning into scattered starlight that fluttered mid‑air.

Immediately, those starlights coalesced inside to form Lei Ke Dun's silhouette, though the figure's eyes were vacant, appearing somewhat dull.

This is the paper avatar left on Tu Ba Ge by Lei Ke Dun; at a crucial moment, it can serve as its trump card.

As the paper avatar took shape, Tu Ba Ge felt a faint, wondrous link forming between itself and the avatar.

It instantly followed the feeling, extending a claw forward; the paper avatar simultaneously raised its right hand, its palm hollow, pulling backward.

The surrounding houses, streets, clouds—all scenery twisted at once, like a massive curtain being pulled aside, revealing the hidden scene below.

The original Sea Defense Street instantly became a solitary island; above, the clear night sky bore a bright white moon.

The Lei Ke Dun silhouette formed by the paper avatar suddenly turned transparent, like a statue composed of countless specks of starlight.

Zila!

The statue shattered, turning into dazzling star‑glow points that surged, instantly filling the whole space, sparkling with specks of light that merged into the void.

"What is this?" Ke Lai En looked up at the bright white moon, and a surge of uncontrollable emotion rose within him; he felt a bit homesick!

Tu Ba Ge mimicked Lei Ke Dun's usual gesture, rubbing its chin with a claw, and said in a deep voice:

"Boss created the 'Ideal Land'; after you encountered Maiweit, he let me use it to commune with the opponent and locate the person behind them."

"He will notice once I exhaust the paper avatar and rush over."

"'An isolated Ideal Land?'" Ke Lai En's thoughts drifted away for a moment.

"Spirit communication is a trap! 'Flame' is the bait you prepared!"

"You already knew I'd be ambushed by Maiweit?"

Daniz and Maiweit simultaneously showed shock.

Daniz glared at the Tu Ba Ge standing nearby; he'd never found this rabbit so annoying.

Maiweit, wary, retreated; he tried to awaken his undead, but couldn't sense them—damn! This is a trap aimed at me, or rather likely aimed at that prominent figure of the Rose School.

"That dignitary is in Baiyam; if it weren't for that pressure, I wouldn't have irrationally pursued 'Flame' today. If I suddenly die, that figure would instantly detect the problem."

"You should understand, those skilled in divination aren't only the diviners' path."

Maiweit rasped.

The moment he realized he had fallen into a trap, he understood that escaping was almost impossible. He could only delay as much as possible until that figure noticed the issue.

In response came an indescribable intense hunger, feeling like a lurking horror in the darkness silently staring at him.

Such a terrifying feeling—who the heck is this guy? A thought flashed in Maiweit's mind, a compressed white‑hot fireball howled toward him.

Subconsciously, Maiweit raised his arm to block.

Boom!

The flame burst, a wave of air surged, obscuring his sight.

The next moment, the flame surged upward, Ke Lai En's figure emerged within the fire, then leapt out.

The glove on his left hand turned gold, two specks of light in his eyes grew larger and brighter, like lightning suddenly slashing the sky.

A "Mental Pierce" from the Interrogator.

"Ah!"

"Steel" Maiweit let out a sudden scream, as if a knife had been thrust into his head, stirring his gray‑white brain.

Pain erupted from deep within his soul, instantly occupying all his thoughts.

Pff! Chi! Chi!

Thick, emerald‑green vines shot up from the ground, layer upon layer engulfing Maiweit's figure.

At the same time, Maiweit's extraordinary ability erupted explosively.

Around, a wail! a hurricane blew up, temperature kept dropping, phantom snowflakes drifted down in midair, transparent crystalline ice spread across the ground, and instantly a layer of white frost coated the surroundings.

Strands of black death energy swirled, causing the vines entwined around him to wither rapidly, revealing obvious signs of rot.

The surroundings were shrouded in a dull gray, and even the blowing wind seemed tinged with the shrill wails of resentful remnant spirits, making it sound mournful and piercing.

Klein naturally descended from midair, the glove on his left palm changing again, bursting forth with radiant light like direct sunlight.

He immediately spread his arms, leaned back his body, as if embracing the sun!

In the next instant, a pure, blazing, thick pillar of light descended from the sky!

This divine radiance instantly enveloped Steel Maiweit, piercing his withered vines and illuminating his dark skin.

The "Divine Light" from the Light Sacrifice, silently, made Maiweit's expression grow increasingly ferocious and twisted, with clear signs of melting appearing on the surface of his skin.

At this moment, he was like a candle thrown into a fireplace—his hair, flesh, and even his spirit were rapidly melting.

The snowflakes drifting in midair halted abruptly, the ground's ice layer quickly melted, and the dried vines were set ablaze.

Daniz had crimson churning in his hand; after his repeated compression, those flames turned from crimson to incandescent white.

The incandescent white flames flowed down like liquid, forming a whip about four to five meters long.

As Daniz swung his arm, the incandescent white whip lashed out swiftly, immediately wrapping substantially around Maiweit's neck.

The high temperature of the incandescent white flames continually penetrated Maiweit's skin, attempting to melt his flesh.

Klein glanced at Daniz, quite unexpectedly.

This guy had hidden his strength before? This flame seemed to have a tendency toward materialization, not merely a fire‑control ability but more like a special spell—could a pirate even master such a thing?

Klein then withdrew his gaze, having ended the use of the Light Sacrifice; a faint white frost reappeared on Maiweit's body, counteracting the burning sensation and the flames wrapped around his neck.

Under his feet another layer of ice condensed, and the fist he clenched carried a rotting aura.

Before he could make an effective resistance, he faintly saw two flashes of lightning appear in Klein's eyes.

In the next instant, Steel Maiweit instinctively tilted his head back, with blood oozing from his nostrils, mouth, and ears everywhere.

He opened his mouth, but with the substantial‑like flames entwined around his neck, he could not produce any sound.

(End of chapter)