Chapter 191: Heretic Boy

"Heretic! Surrender!"

The Puma Knights brandished finely crafted spears, their faces painted with oil, and stepped closer to the little boy.

The two Nik Sar Lan people with strange white skin standing behind the little boy did not attract their attention, because they were an old man and a woman, and wore no shaman garb, appearing very frail.

Xia Nai frowned; the little boy was skin‑and‑bone thin, unarmed, looking pitiful, so why had so many Nik Sar Lan knights pursued him?

The little boy, frightened, fell to sit on the ground, glanced back at Xia Nai and Sai Fa Er; though young, he could tell that they could not match the powerful Puma Knights.

With a sobbing voice he said, "Please, I am not a heretic."

The Puma Knights ignored his plea, coldly continuing their advance: "The deity has issued a divine decree; you are a heretic!"

A spear was thrust forward by a Puma Knight, firmly embedding before the little boy; the sharp spear's slipstream terrified him into immobility, leaving him to watch their approach in despair.

Xia Nai gritted her teeth, glanced back at Sai Fa Er; the elder lightly nodded, and she steadied herself, shouting, "Stop! Who are you, and why are you hunting a child!"

The Puma Knights were taken aback, not expecting these two strangers to dare obstruct their mission.

One quickly recovered, coldly staring at her, "Mind your own business, woman. Or are you, like this boy, a heretic defying the deity?!"

Xia Nai sneered, "What deity would deliberately hunt a child? Must be an evil god!"

"Audacious! Overbearing heretic, daring to desecrate the great Tizka!" the Puma Knight's face darkened, he shouted angrily.

"Capture them all!" he gestured, and the Puma Knights behind him surged forward.

"Hmph, teach them a lesson, Little La." A black shadow coalesced on Xia Nai's shoulder into a raven, emitting a harsh cry as it charged at the knights.

Six Ring Transformation System Spell—'Lesser Dragon Form'!

Green transmutation energy followed the raven's flight path, striking its body; the tiny raven instantly shattered in midair, rapidly enlarging into a young red dragon!

"It's a dragon! A red dragon! Damn, a shaman!" the Puma Knights' faces changed, assuming defensive stances to block the incoming beast.

Xia Nai sneered, then her glove flashed with various lights, and the young red dragon's attributes rose another four points.

Empowered, the young red dragon slammed its massive force into one Puma Knight; the lion beneath the knight was terrified and frozen, crushed into mush on the spot, while the knight, thanks to his strong Physical Quality, was hurled only a dozen meters before spitting out a mouthful of blood.

The red dragon's scales glittered under moonlight; its tail swung wildly, aiming at another Puma Knight, who barely evaded, the tail smashing into a nearby tree with a deafening crack, the sturdy trunk snapping.

Regaining composure, the Puma Knights rode agile pumas; the beasts let out thunderous roars to spur themselves, their hooves striking fallen leaves with crisp sounds.

Tension and danger hung in the air; the red dragon opened its blood‑filled maw, spewing scorching flame, and several knights scattered to evade the breath.

They brandished spears whose tips crackled with electric light—magically imbued weapons—preparing to assault the red dragon again.

A Puma Knight gripped his spear, leapt atop his lion, and lunged at the red dragon from the side, spear tip aimed at the dragon's eye.

Sensing the threat, the red dragon twisted agilely, swiping with massive claws to knock the knight down, but the lion's swift body vaulted away, evading the strike.

The battle grew fiercer; the red dragon kept spewing even more violent crimson flames, the fire tongues searing the air, incinerating a Puma Knight who failed to dodge.

Yet the red dragon suffered too; one eye was pierced by a spear, and its scales bore several holes from the magical spears wielded by the Puma Knights.

Seeing this, Xia Nai continued casting to aid the red dragon; these Puma Knights were strong, and without help the raven‑turned young red dragon might not slay them all. Five Ring Transformation System Spell—'Malevolent Transmutation'!

Xia Nai softly intoned the incantation, releasing the Malevolent Transmutation three times in succession; three unlucky Puma Knights were struck, their magic resistance shattered by a 12th‑level mage's potent spell, turning them into fragile frogs.

The young red dragon seized the moment, attacking, swiping its claws and crushing the frog‑knights into mush.

The remaining knight, whose mount was gone, sensed danger and tried to flee, but was hit by a trailing Disjunction Technique, turning him to ash in the air.

In three swift blows, all the Puma Knights were eliminated; Sai Fa Er stroked his white beard contentedly, "Not bad, not bad. Your combat skill has finally improved. I told you, even a research‑type mage who never leaves the house must learn to fight. You did well this time."

Xia Nai smiled lightly at the little boy, who was now covering his head, terrified by the massive red dragon that had approached, refusing to move.

"You may lift your head, little boy; those who hunted you are all dead."

The little boy trembled at the words, slowly raised his head, glanced at the two, then at the raven that had transformed back, tears filling his eyes, and knelt before them.

"Thank you! Thank you for saving me."

Xia Nai, curious, asked, "Kid, do you know why they chased you?"

She was genuinely curious—what kind of child could provoke a deity to issue a divine decree to hunt him?

!

The little boy trembled, timidly raising his head in grievance, "I—I don't know. They say I'm a heretic, that my name matches the legendary heretic exactly."

Xia Nai raised an eyebrow, asking, "What is your name?"

"I… I'm called Amaiia."

Xia Nai and Sai Fa Er stared at each other; they knew nothing of Nik Sar Lan mythology and had no idea what the name meant.

"Alright." Xia Nai looked at the little boy, a slight headache forming; they still had a mission, but ignoring him would likely doom the child to not survive the next day in the forest.

"C‑can I follow you?" the little boy whispered.

Xia Nai looked at Sai Fa Er; the old man sighed, "Alright, get up. You may come with us, but I must be clear: we're heading to Duzula City, and to prevent you from being discovered, I'll have to cast a transformation spell to alter your appearance."

The little boy blinked, half‑understanding, and said naively, "As long as you let me follow you and survive, I'll do anything!"

Xia Nai spread her hands, "That's all we can do. Rest now; we must set out early tomorrow."

The three soon settled down; Xia Nai and Sai Fa Er returned to the Dimensional Rift of Magic Rope Technique, while the little boy leaned by the campfire, eating the rations Xia Nai had given.

His vacant eyes stared at the fire; a hand slipped from his shirt collar, pulling out a tiny pendant resembling a green‑gem sword.

"What did you say? Fine. Fine then."

He muttered to himself, sitting by the fire, and gradually fell asleep.

(End of Chapter)