Next, countless tentacles reached out from the space behind the Evil God Statue, wrapping around the clock.
With a violent tug...
The magic circle around the edge of the clock collapsed, and the entire clock was ripped straight out of it.
In Li Xiuman's vision, the world instantly slowed to a crawl.
Everyone's movements slowed down along with it.
The effect had ended!
The Evil God Statue slowly descended, its tentacles retracting one by one. Li Xiuman grabbed it and stashed it away in his storage space.
Sealed! Sealed away!
Li Xiuman never wanted to use this Evil God Statue again for the rest of his life.
Praying to an evil god was practically the fast track to a Bad End.
But even though the clock's effect was broken, the situation was still bleak for Li Xiuman.
His hostage was gone, and he was still surrounded by the elderly Swordsman, the elderly Mage, and a small army of combatants.
“Wait! I still have something to say!” Li Xiuman shouted.
But no one paid him any mind now, lunging at him with attacks as if they couldn't wait to tear him to pieces.
The elderly Swordsman swung his longsword once more, drawing a brilliant arc of sword light that slashed toward Li Xiuman.
The Omen Crystal flared with a blinding crimson light.
He didn't even need the Omen Crystal to tell him that he was in extreme danger.
Gripping Crystal Orchid with all his might, he met the incoming sword light.
The bones in his hands shattered from the impact, and Crystal Orchid wouldn't stop vibrating violently.
Then came a lightning-fast second strike.
“Tier 2 Necromancy: Undead Summoning!”
The newly summoned undead was instantly shredded to pieces, along with Li Xiuman's chestplate and several ribs.
The [Bound Flame] chestplate was destroyed.
A third strike came.
“Rock Shield!”
The Rock Shield floating before his arm couldn't block it for even a fraction of a second, sliced clean in half down the middle.
Having severed the shield, the longsword continued on its trajectory toward his forearm.
The [Fire Lizardman King Armguard] was destroyed.
Using the recoil from the blow, Li Xiuman retreated desperately. Spreading his Bone Wings, he flew up into the sky.
But any hope of buying even a single second of time this way was immediately shattered.
The elderly Swordsman stepped off the empty air, pursuing him straight up into the sky.
“O spirits of the wind, brew a gentle breeze here, and grant wings to the creatures of the earth!”
“Tier 3 Magic: Mass Flight!”
The elderly Mage chanted a spell, and instantly, everyone rose into the air.
Damn it!
Without a second thought, Li Xiuman beat his wings and fled in the direction Lucia had gone.
He never expected a day would come where he would be banking on Lucia to save him.
In a way, he supposed he was pretty remarkable just for surviving this long.
Behind him, the elderly Swordsman was already catching up, bringing a sword slash down toward his back.
“Tier 2 Magic: Strong Whirlwind!”
Li Xiuman waved his wand. A teal magic circle expanded, and he whipped up a storm with ease, hurling it at the elderly Swordsman behind him.
But the old Swordsman simply brought his blade down in a plain, unadorned slash, splitting the whirlwind cleanly in two in an incredibly unscientific display.
“This is unscientific!”
Of course, a magical world didn't answer to science.
Li Xiuman raised his Rib Sword defensively but was struck so hard he plummeted from the sky, crashing into the ground and smashing through a row of trees.
He tried to fly up again, but the moment he got off the ground, a massive fireball blasted him right back down.
However, Li Xiuman was now in the shadows of the woods; he was no longer out in the open, barren grassland.
Wrapping the Deep Black Cloak tightly around himself, Li Xiuman activated Shadow Melding.
In an instant, his body seemed to turn to liquid, melting into the darkness as he glided into the depths of the forest.
“Slippery bastard,” the elderly Swordsman muttered grimly to himself as he landed on the ground, staring into the shadowed trees.
Then, he pulled out a beautiful compass.
[Wind Whisper Compass] The omnipresent wind monitors your every move. Wherever there is wind, there is nowhere to hide.
[Special Effects] 1. Wind's Gossip (Within the wind's domain, the compass will guide you to your target's location).
2. Luck Lock (The bearer is more likely to navigate toward their target).
3. Wind Walk (The bearer's speed is increased).
4. Wind Ears (Allows the user to hear the target's voice).
[Quality] Blue (High-Magic-grade)
The needle on the compass spun rapidly before locking onto a precise direction.
The elderly Swordsman dashed forward without a moment's hesitation.
His eyes quickly scanned the path the needle indicated, and he soon spotted a patch of shadow that was noticeably darker than the rest.
Making a split-second decision, he swung his sword, sending a wave of sword qi straight toward the shadow.
With a whoosh, the shadow darted out of the way, dodging the sword qi and sprinting deeper into the forest.
Guided by the compass, the elderly Swordsman pursued closely behind Li Xiuman.
He unleashed wave after wave of sword qi, coming within a hair's breadth of striking Li Xiuman multiple times.
Terrified to keep maintaining Shadow Melding under such a barrage, Li Xiuman was forced to revert to his humanoid form.
If Shadow Melding from the Deep Black Cloak was forcibly broken, he would enter a state of Shadow Punishment, severely reducing his attributes.
“You damn geezer!”
“If I get out of here alive today, I'm going to stuff your head straight up your ***!”
“When you go home, I suggest you insert something to stretch it out first, so you won't suffer from it being too tight later!”
Li Xiuman hurled insults as he ran.
The elderly Swordsman remained completely unfazed, his figure closing in faster and faster.
By now, the Omen Crystal was glowing so intensely red it looked ready to drip blood, frantically screaming warnings of imminent death in Li Xiuman's mind.
The blade drew closer and closer.
Li Xiuman was on the verge of offering his entire net worth as a sacrifice to the evil god to take the old Swordsman down with him in mutual destruction.
Just then, a bone spear thrust down from the sky. The elderly Swordsman was forced to deflect the bone spear, sparing Li Xiuman's life.
Li Xiuman hurriedly looked up and saw Lucia floating in the sky, riding a miniature bone dragon.
[Pound's Skeleton Dragon Beast]
[Level] Lv.41
[Class] Monster
[Status] Decayed
[Skills] Hard Bone Lv.5, Great Strength Lv.5, Breath Lv.5, Bone Manipulation Lv.4, Swiftness Lv.4, Bone Wings Lv.4, Bone Spikes Lv.4, Fire Magic Lv.4, Dragon Magic Lv.3, Resilience Lv.3, Self-Healing Lv.3, Beast Instinct Lv.3, Bone Hyperplasia Lv.2, Biting Lv.2, Bone Strengthening Lv.2, Obedience Lv.1
[Description] A skeletal dragon created by the bone dragon Pound using his own bones. One of Pound's minions, it is powerful, deadly, and a mindless beast of war. Extremely dangerous.
“Despicable humans! Go to hell!”
Riding atop the Skeleton Dragon Beast, Lucia swooped down as a torrent of blue flame breath erupted from the dragon's jaws.
“Sister Lucia! You finally made it!”
Li Xiuman knew his life was likely saved.
Suddenly, more and more succubi riding Skeleton Dragon Beasts materialized, charging toward the despicable humans.
The two sides clashed in a brutal melee.
Li Xiuman tried to slip away amidst the chaos.
He hoped these succubi and humans would slaughter each other to the last breath. If they all ended up dead, it would be the absolute best outcome for him.
Unfortunately, even for Li Xiuman, it was impossible to fish in troubled waters and escape every single time.
Several succubi riding dragon beasts landed around Li Xiuman, keeping a tight watch on him and completely blocking off his escape routes.
Looking at the surrounding succubi, Li Xiuman could only muster a strained smile and wave.
“Hello there, beautiful demon sisters. Long time no see.”
“Back in White Bear City, I missed you all so much I couldn't sleep a wink, day or night.”
Rate on N.U.
