Ethan glanced at the light shield over his head.
Not going to let me out, then?
Don't come begging me later.
He turned and dove into the cluster of buildings.
The wooden houses lining the streets became the perfect cover.
Ethan wove between the structures, never stopping his pace, his hands constantly rising.
Flying leaves shot from his palms, Seed Bombs flicked from his fingertips, and Thorn Pierces erupted from the ground.
The wall of one wooden house was blasted open by a Seed Bomb. Wood splinters shot out from the center of the explosion in all directions, pinning three Amons warriors inside to the wall.
Another wooden house was pierced from its foundation by a Giant Wood Spike. The entire building tilted to one side, roof tiles clattering down and shattering into powder on the street.
Yet another house was caught in a Vine Strangle. As the vines tightened, the timber groaned under the unbearable pressure until the entire house was crushed into pieces.
Life Energy surged continuously.
Zhuoya was in hot pursuit behind him.
With every swing of her short staff, green light orbs, vine whips, and wooden spikes shot toward Ethan. When the orbs hit the walls, the walls exploded.
The whips lashed the ground, shattering the stone slabs. The spikes nailed into the wooden houses, causing them to collapse.
But Ethan was too fast.
He constantly moved through the buildings, turning left, then right, darting through the front door of one house and out the back door of another.
Zhuoya's attacks exploded behind him every time, always missing by just a hair.
What made Zhuoya even more hesitant was that Ethan would occasionally grab nearby Amons and hurl them toward her.
One Amons warrior was snatched by the ankle by a vine and flung through the air at Zhuoya.
Zhuoya jerked her staff, and the green light orb she had just fired dissipated abruptly in mid-air.
She raised a hand to catch the warrior and tossed him onto a nearby roof.
The warriors on the roof caught their comrade, and the two rolled across the tiles together.
In that brief delay, Ethan pulled even further away.
Zhuoya's face was dark with fury.
Her pace suddenly quickened. No longer caring about the surrounding buildings, she smashed straight through the wall of a wooden house, emerging from a cloud of splinters. She pointed her staff forward, and over a dozen light orbs shot out simultaneously.
The orbs converged on Ethan from every angle, sealing off all avenues of escape.
Ethan dodged and weaved.
He leaned to the side to evade the first, ducked under the second, jumped over the third, and twisted his body to let the fourth pass.
The fifth grazed his left arm. The sleeve vaporized instantly, and the skin on his arm was scorched into a blackened wound.
The muscle at the edge of the wound writhed, regrowing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
The sixth orb struck him square in the back.
BOOM.
Ethan was sent flying by the explosion.
The clothes on his back vaporized instantly. Skin, muscle, and bone were shattered in the blast.
Pale red blood and shredded meat sprayed in all directions, blooming into a mist of blood in the air.
He smashed through the wall of the wooden house opposite him, pulverized the wooden tables and cabinets inside, and crashed out through the other wall, tumbling seventeen or eighteen meters down the street before coming to a stop.
【Death confirmed. Consuming 1 year of longevity. Perfect Resurrection.】
The darkness lasted only a heartbeat.
Ethan scrambled up from the ground.
His back was perfectly intact, the skin smooth and the muscles whole.
Only the large hole in the back of his clothes proved that the previous strike had indeed hit him.
"Damn it! The old hag is truly fierce."
Ethan cursed and continued his escape.
Zhuoya's pupils constricted violently.
She had seen it.
That outsider had been struck in the back by her light orb; his entire back should have been blown to pieces.
With injuries like that, even a Priest-level expert would have been doomed.
But he had stood back up.
His back was completely unharmed.
"What kind of thing are you?"
Ethan had no intention of answering.
Only a lunatic would answer an enemy's questions.
The wooden houses on both sides of the street receded rapidly beside him.
His right hand rose repeatedly, the emerald-green light flickering in his palm as he continuously harvested lives.
He never stopped moving, his direction clear.
Leah was just ahead.
The long-eared Amons girl was being escorted by over a dozen warriors, fleeing toward the other side of the city.
Zhuoya finally realized where Ethan was heading.
"Vile creature, you dare!"
The voice came from behind, shrill and piercing.
Zhuoya had finally caught on.
Ethan didn't even look back.
"Old hag, I might not be able to beat you, but you think I can't beat your granddaughter?"
He raised his right hand as he ran.
Three Seed Bombs shot out in a triangular formation, landing thirty meters ahead of Leah's retreat route.
Emerald-green light exploded.
Wooden spikes shot out in all directions from the center of the blast.
They nailed into the walls of the houses on both sides of the street, into the cracks between the stone slabs, and into the spherical tree canopies along the road.
The warrior running at the very front had a spike drive into his calf. He lost his balance and pitched forward.
Before he even hit the ground, several more spikes impaled his abdomen and chest.
Zhuoya's expression changed. "Leah, run! The rest of you, protect Leah!"
"Yes, Priest!"
The surrounding Amons warriors roared in acknowledgment.
From the houses on both sides, from the shadows of the alleys, and from the rooftops, dozens of warriors lunged at Ethan simultaneously, their amber eyes filled with grim determination.
Ethan spread the fingers of his right hand.
Dozens of dark brown vines shot out from his palm.
The vines fanned out in the air like a massive web, lunging in every direction.
The warrior in the lead was caught by the ankle and yanked into the air, slammed into the wall of a house across the street.
His body smashed through the wooden planks, splinters flying as he was embedded in the hole, pale blue blood gushing from the corner of his mouth.
A second warrior was caught around the waist. The tightening vine bit into his flesh, his bones groaning under the strain.
A third warrior was caught by the neck, his amber eyes bulging and his tongue forced out from the side of his mouth.
The vines danced continuously.
Ethan didn't stop moving.
"Heh, run? Let's see who's faster."
Ethan slammed his foot onto the ground, shattering the stone slabs as he charged straight toward the group of warriors.
Before he had covered even a hundred meters, the sound of rushing wind erupted behind him.
An emerald-green palm struck from his rear flank, moving with incredible speed.
Ethan twisted his torso. The palm grazed his left ribs, vaporizing his clothes instantly. Three ribs snapped, and his left kidney was shredded by the force of the wind.
He was sent flying sideways, crashing through the wall of a roadside house, smashing out the other side, and tumbling seven or eight meters down the street.
【Death confirmed. Consuming 1 year of longevity. Perfect Resurrection.】
Ethan bounced up from the ground, his feet never stopping as he continued charging toward Leah.
"Old hag, is that all you've got?"
Zhuoya's face was dark with fury.
She pointed her staff forward, and three more light orbs shot out.
Ethan dodged left and right.
The first grazed his scalp. The second hit his left shoulder, tearing his entire left arm from his torso. Pale red blood erupted from the stump.
His body was spun half a circle by the impact. Before he could even steady himself, the third light orb was already in front of his face.
BOOM.
His head exploded.
【Death confirmed. Consuming 1 year of longevity. Perfect Resurrection.】
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