The Chase at
It was not just the regret of falling into a trap, but also a sense of humiliation at being scorned. But soon, he understood why the other party had stopped pursuing. Bang—
A rock traced a parabolic arc through the air, slamming heavily onto the high platform and kicking up a cloud of dust. The hunter followed closely, steadying the Nights Cavalry. "Are you alright?" "I'm fine."
Monk pushed A away directly, looked down at the deep sword scar on his chest, and picked up his pure iron steel spear from the side:
"Pursue him. This man must die!" A pursuit squad this powerful had been left in such a sorry state; if he didn't take Throne's head, he would have no face left to return to Leyndell. Either Throne dies, or he does.
A looked silently at the Nights Cavalry, who had scrambled onto the high platform using both hands and feet. While it is said that one should not pursue a desperate foe, he had actually suggested trailing behind and waiting for Oleg to return to crush them, but he understood Monk's position. An entire Nights Cavalry squad had been wiped out.
If they had been crushed by a powerhouse like Oleg, it wouldn't have mattered, but this person, who wasn't even that strong, had inflicted such terrifying losses. He could not swallow this insult no matter what. "You stay here. If we don't return, go back to Leyndell and tell His Highness Morgott that another ancient existence has awakened, and ask him to prepare early."
The attendant had originally planned to take a detour, but upon hearing this, he stopped. The anger over his companions' deaths brewed in his heart, yet seeing the mournful funeral horse, fear also spread. He hesitated for a moment before finally nodding. "Yes." Climbing onto the high platform and passing through a grove, the two saw a cave entrance.
The opening was narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass through, and deep inside, an ominous premonition lingered. Drops of blood trailed along the ground, leading inward. The hunter stopped and looked north, his eyelids twitching immediately. Could this cave lead directly to Caelid? But it was so hidden; how could that man know about it?
And if he knew, why didn't he run this way from the start? "It seems we cannot wait for Lord Oleg." Monk took a deep breath and walked inside, dragging his long spear. "If we let him escape to Caelid, not only will our men have died in vain, but the future consequences will be endless!" "Then let's bury him here." A, having no way back, slammed his fists together and followed closely behind.
However, after only two steps, Monk in front triggered a trap, and a falling Fire Pot immediately set the cave entrance ablaze. He immediately rushed forward to pull the singed Nights Cavalry away, using an incantation to extinguish the flames. Fine, I'd better walk in front. It seems you haven't heard the saying: do not pursue a desperate foe.
Walking through the pitch-black tunnel, Throne glanced behind him. In the darkness of the passage, that cluster of orange-red flames appeared extremely glaring, illuminating his smiling face. "Don't worry, these people won't make it out of this tunnel." Throne patted the shivering Demi-human beside him, who hurriedly forced a smile. Bo was scared to death.
He had thought he was just helping his benefactor get to Caelid, but what the hell were these two enemies following them? Even from a distance, their aura made his heart race; he felt that the knightly lords of the past weren't even fit to carry their shoes. Throne wasn't just boasting to reassure him.
Even though he was dizzy and unsteady on his feet after the brief burst from the Dragon Heart, those two were having a much worse time; it was equivalent to entering a pre-set battlefield blindfolded. They knew nothing about the structure of Gael Tunnel, nor what was inside. The advantage had already tilted toward me. "Bo, where is that Magma Wyrm?"
Throne asked while drawing his longbow, tossing a Fire Pot, and then shooting it mid-air to detonate it. The flames fell from the sky, forcing the two to roar in anger. "You, you really want to provoke that monster??" Bo watched as the brilliant flames were torn apart by the long spear, and the enraged Nights Cavalry leaped up several meters onto the platform, his whole body trembling.
"Don't be afraid, just lead me there. When the time comes, leave a Rainbow Stone, and you can leave first." Throne turned and fired three consecutive arrows, but they were shattered in mid-air by the hunter using a rock-shard incantation. Apart from the height difference, the straight-line distance between them was less than fifty meters, and a giant boulder was already flying toward him.
Boom—
The rock wall was smashed directly, and brilliant exploding crystals fell out. Throne tucked the Demi-human under his arm and jumped out of the dust, his tone urgent:
"If you don't tell me now, we're both going to die." Perhaps because the killing intent at his back was more intense, the Demi-human gritted his teeth and pointed to a side tunnel: "Go this way." "Good."
Throne maintained his unhurried pace, as if he hadn't seen the Nights Cavalry leaping toward him. He simply raised his blade and released a fist-sized ball of starlight. Monk swung his hand on the ladder, rushing toward Throne's back like an arrow. The instantaneous burst closed the distance to within ten meters, but a flash of intense light appeared in the pitch-black tunnel.
His vision instantly turned completely white. The Nights Cavalry, who had been charging forward, forced himself to stop, pulling his halberd to his chest in a defensive stance, but he didn't feel the sharp wind of an enemy's counterattack. A moment later, the 'flashbang' was shattered by a punch from the rushing hunter.
As his vision gradually recovered, Monk looked at the pitch-black tunnel, his brows furrowed tightly. "What is he trying to do? Why didn't he take the opportunity to counterattack?" "I don't know, but he must be leading us somewhere." The hunter also frowned. He had never been to Caelid, nor did he have a shred of intelligence on this tunnel.
But judging from the terrain, the exit must be above, so why was the target running downward? "Are we still pursuing?" "We've come this far, can we really turn back? Who knows if those Demi-humans dug two exits!" Monk slowly stood up, slowed his pace, and walked inward vigilantly. A remained silent for a long while; his intuition had already sensed danger, but just as Monk said, he had no way back.
Like a gambler with bloodshot eyes, desperately needing to turn the tables, they knew there were tigers in the mountains but had to head toward the tiger's den. Even though they felt something was wrong, the two could only inch forward, step by step. The tunnel was deep, and there were far fewer signs of mining here. A heavy pressure lingered in their hearts.
Fortunately, one of them was a veteran of many battles, and the other had ventured into eerie catacombs countless times, so they weren't scared by the scene, just felt that the situation was not right. There were no traps, no ambushes; it was unnaturally smooth.
Reason was warning them to stop, but after being battered and exhausted along the way, they had long lost the confidence to deal with things calmly. Having suffered such great losses, if they gained nothing at all, they might as well slit their own throats in this deep cave. Honor and duty pushed them forward. Their heavy footsteps echoed.
Perhaps a minute, perhaps an hour later, the two stopped at the same time. The knight in tattered armor stood ahead, behind him was a heavy wooden door, and the Demi-human had already disappeared. The target had finally stopped. "Bring it out, your trump card." A stepped forward silently. He was not stupid; he knew that if this person dared to stop, he must have prepared something.
Monk bent his knees and crouched, scanning the surroundings vigilantly, as if Demi-human archers might appear on the top of the rock walls at any moment. But it didn't matter anymore; even if he were shot into a sieve, he would cut off this man's head first. "My trump card, you are not worthy to see." Throne took off his helmet, shook his blood-stained black hair, and lifted his foot.
"Then let's decide the outcome here!" Bang! A back kick slammed into the door, blasting a gap open, and his whole body dissipated into starlight. The next moment, the heavy spear arrived through the air. The ground was blasted into a huge hole. Monk bent over, the hunter stepped on his back and leaped up, his raised fist slamming fiercely into the door.
Boom—
The door made of logs was blasted into splinters. As he fell through the air, looking at the scene inside, his eyes widened instantly. This was a huge cavern with no other escape routes; there was only a behemoth curled up in the center of the cavern. It was curled into a ball, seemingly asleep. Its dark green scales reflected the torchlight.
Its limbs were thick and short, and there was a pair of disproportionately small wings on its back, while its round head was full of sharp teeth. A Magma Wyrm? There's a Magma Wyrm in here? With A's knowledge, he instantly recognized what this thing was. It was the final fate of those who greedily sought power and used the Dragon Communion ritual too much.
And this Magma Wyrm had already awakened, looking up at the two intruders. An aura of tyranny and greed rushed toward them, and their target was standing on the Magma Wyrm's back, his long blade wreathed in spiral magic. Then, he stabbed into the Magma Wyrm's back without hesitation. "Hey, wake up and greet the guests!!"
The feeling of being startled awake from a deep sleep is terrible, and when you are startled awake by a slap across the face, any creature would have only one thought—
Rage. Absolute, utter rage. Roar!! The Magma Wyrm, already known for its ferocity, sprang up in an instant, throwing Throne, who was standing on its back, flying.
But the moment he landed, the latter used Bloodhounds Step to retreat continuously, avoiding the dragon tail that swept across in front of him. The splashed pebbles hit his body, clanging against his armor. He landed on the ground, slid back a few meters, wiped the blood flowing down his forehead, and laughed toward the front. You two play for a while! Click, click, click...
Amidst Throne's laughter, the nearly ten-meter-long Magma Wyrm crawled up. Its body was massive, and turning around wasn't easy. Besides, it didn't need to turn around; weren't there two stupid thieves right in front of it who had broken into its bedroom? "Careful, he used the Magma Wyrm to ambush us!"
The hunter roared, landed on the ground, jumped to the side with a step, and then felt a stream of scorching magma sweep past him. Woo! The Magma Wyrm's assault burned the wooden door into charcoal directly. The two jumped left and right, no longer caring about being angry at Throne; in this environment, a Magma Wyrm was extremely deadly.
It was narrow and enclosed, leaving little room for them to dodge. As for retreating? Thump, thump, thump—
Heavy footsteps approached from far to near. The behemoth charged head-on. The two hurriedly dodged to the sides, and then heard a muffled 'boom'. The Magma Wyrm slammed its head into the rock wall, and rocks of all sizes fell from above.
The hunter leaped into the air, using his fists to swat these stones away like projectiles. Bang, bang... It was just like a rain of stones, hitting the Magma Wyrm and making it clang all over. Unfortunately, this force couldn't break its armor at all, and the hunter wasn't good at fighting against such a behemoth.
Seeing the Magma Wyrm's tail sweep toward the sky, he simply gritted his teeth and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Slap—thud! The muffled sound and the sound of the rock wall shattering rang out in succession. A felt his whole body sink into the rock wall, and a mouthful of blood surged up to his throat.
He didn't have time to spit it out because the Magma Wyrm was already rolling toward him. He had to force his waist and abdomen to pull his body out. Fortunately, a flash of lightning rushed toward the Magma Wyrm from the side. The Nights Cavalry ran wildly.
While his companion was attracting attention, he suddenly killed his way to the side of the Magma Wyrm, gripped his long spear tightly, and thrust it upward at the behemoth passing before his eyes—
Giant Hunt! This was a special skill that actually launched the heavy Magma Wyrm several meters into the air, lifting it off the ground and causing it to lose its footing instantly. Opportunity.
A gleam of light flashed in the hunter's eyes. He kicked off the rock wall, clasped his hands together into a hammer, and flew toward the Magma Wyrm's head. Beastial Slam! Bang!! His fist slammed solidly onto the Magma Wyrm's head, causing the hard skull to sink slightly, and its entire body fell rapidly. Below, the Nights Cavalry was already waiting silently.
Perhaps sensing a fatal threat, its short wings flapped a few times, slowing its descent while it forcibly flipped its body, extending its neck to bite at the hunter in the air. Snap. A giant stone was shoved into its mouth, soon to be bitten into fragments by its sharp teeth.
As the fangs raked past, they tore a large chunk of flesh from the hunter's ribs; the light armor was as powerless as paper. A endured the excruciating pain and kicked the dragon's neck, causing it to land heavily. The Nights Cavalry, who had been waiting on the ground for a long time, swung with all his might. Swish—
Blood flew everywhere. A wing, along with a large piece of flesh, was cut off.
The excruciating pain stimulated the Magma Wyrm's nerves, making it spin and thrash frantically on the ground. Bang, bang, bang... Rocks flew in all directions, and the ground was full of large pits. The crazed Magma Wyrm was impossible to approach, and the entire cavern shook, with rocks and dust constantly falling. "Terrifying." Throne clicked his tongue in amazement from the side.
The Magma Wyrm was fierce, and the hunter and the Nights Cavalry were also extremely powerful. No wonder they dared to follow. Without Ranni's power, dealing with one would be a struggle, and dealing with two would be suicide. These three were undoubtedly hero-class, but the best part was that while they were fighting for their lives, Throne was hiding in the corner, watching the battle.
Blood, magma, and rocks were flying about, and they were fighting with all their might. At this moment, a wing attached to a large lump of flesh was thrown in front of Throne. He took a look and raised his eyebrows slightly. A half-broken hilt was stuck in the flesh, with a grey wrapping, which looked quite familiar. Throne looked at the battlefield.
The hunter punched and shattered the Magma Wyrm's fangs; the Magma Wyrm's tail strike sent the Nights Cavalry flying more than ten meters, and then a flying spear pierced its forehead. Well fought! The swordsman couldn't help but clap, then snuck over to the fleshy wing and pulled the blade out.
Swish—
The blade was three feet long, with a slightly larger curve than star-frost, but the shape was definitely a katana. In an instant, he confirmed it. The legendary Moonveil!? Throne's eyes widened, as if he couldn't believe his luck, and then his mouth couldn't help but curl up.
The best part wasn't watching three heroes tear each other apart—it was looting their corpses mid-battle. My fingers closed around the hilt of a legendary blade, its edge humming with trapped lightning. Glintstone veins pulsed beneath alloyed steel, a weapon forged to channel magic straight into your enemy's bones.
It just didn't have a spellcasting array on it, so it couldn't sing spells into being like a proper sword-staff. But make no mistake—this steel could dance with star-frost blades blow for blow. The dead champions' blood still sizzled where it touched the metal.