Ambush

Inside the room.

“Novia.”

Lu Mao stood by the bedside, his voice low but clear. “Wake up. Something's happened.”

Novia's slit pupils snapped open almost instantly, as alert as if she had never been asleep.

She floated down slowly from the bed, tilting her head up with a trace of irritation on her face from being woken up.

“What is it? Have they come?”

As he packed several useful items from the room into his storage ring, he replied,

“They'll probably make their move tonight. We can head to the tavern or the First Hall. Take your pick.”

Lu Mao's tone was so nonchalant, it was as if he wasn't the one the cultists were coming to assassinate.

“Let's go to the tavern. If they really make their move, the scale of the battle won't be small. Staying in Rhode City will only put the civilians' lives at risk.”

Lu Mao cast a sideways glance at her.

He hadn't expected this self-proclaimed superior being to actually care about the safety of ordinary people.

Lu Mao pulled his dagger from his ring, slid it into the leather sheath at his waist, and after making sure he hadn't left anything behind, pushed the door open and went downstairs.

Balen was still in the lobby, sipping on the free tea provided by the inn. He had originally wanted to crack a few more jokes, but upon seeing the solemn expression on Lu Mao's face, he chose to keep his mouth shut.

“Balen, I have to head out. I won't be back tonight. Tell Misha and the others that they absolutely must stay safe on the road.

“If I'm not back by tomorrow, don't wait for me. Just head out.”

Balen set his cup down on the table, his expression beneath his thick beard turning unusually serious.

He didn't pry for reasons, simply nodding in response.

“Got it. You stay safe too.”

Just as Lu Mao reached the entrance, the wooden door was pushed open from the outside.

Rayne was the first to enter, holding a bulging coin pouch in his hand, a rare look of ease on his face.

Behind him, Gerak and Elliot were each carrying a large bag of supplies.

The three of them entered the inn, chatting and laughing.

“Lu Mao?”

Rayne spotted him immediately, then glanced at Novia floating behind him, his brow furrowing slightly.

Gerak also paused, his beastkin ears twitching as he keenly picked up on the tense atmosphere.

“I have some things to take care of. I'm heading out. Make sure to stay safe on your journey tomorrow. I won't be coming along.”

Lu Mao didn't explain further. Leading Novia, he slipped past Rayne and Gerak, pushed open the wooden door, and quickly vanished into the night.

The three of them exchanged glances before looking at Balen in complete bewilderment.

The latter shrugged, indicating he had no idea what was going on either.

...

Once they passed through Rhode City's north gate, the stone-paved road beneath their feet gradually gave way to gravel.

A full moon hung high in the sky, illuminating every single pebble on the path.

According to their original plan, Novia could have simply carried Lu Mao and flown straight to the dungeon. However, on second thought, flying would make them too conspicuous a target, so they ultimately chose to travel on foot.

After walking along the gravel road for about an hour, a fork appeared ahead.

The main road continued toward a distant village, while an inconspicuous dirt path on the left veered into the forest.

Lu Mao stepped onto the dirt path, his boots leaving uneven prints in the soft soil.

Perhaps it was because he was accompanied by a dragon in human form, but the midsummer forest was exceptionally quiet.

After taking a few steps, he glanced sideways at Novia floating beside him.

“I know you despise me. To be honest, I really dislike you too—

“along with your arrogance... and your domineering, arbitrary nature.”

Novia frowned.

Lu Mao took a deep breath and continued,

“But you should leave. I don't want you to throw your life away for nothing.”

As he walked down the dark path, Lu Mao gradually came to a realization.

This current save run was far from perfect. Now that he was targeted by the cultists, his future would likely be a struggle anyway—unless he chose to hide like a coward forever.

Furthermore, he still hadn't figured out why Liz and the others were going to be attacked.

Since the system had explicitly stated that he needed to protect them, it was obvious that Misha and the others wouldn't make it to their destination safely on their own.

At the very least, someone would die. Perhaps all of them.

He didn't want to see that happen.

So, it was best for him to just quietly die alone and trigger a Death Return.

“Do you think I'm afraid of death, or do you think I'll actually die?”

Novia floated slightly higher, turning to look down at Lu Mao.

“No, I want to ask you to protect the other members of my party. I actually don't need protection—I can't die.”

“No matter what you're planning, my current mission is to protect you. I don't care about anything else.”

Knowing he couldn't convince her, Lu Mao dropped the subject.

The night wind rustled through the canopy, slicing the moonlight into scattered fragments through the leaves.

After walking a few more paces, Lu Mao suddenly sensed something was off.

It was too quiet.

There were no insects chirping, no birds singing.

Only the rustling of the evening breeze.

Novia's slit pupils contracted slightly in the moonlight.

Without turning her head, she slipped her right hand out of her sleeve, her fingers splayed as her fingertips gleamed with a faint, dark-gold luster under the moonlight.

“Scan.”

【Warning: Hostile units detected. Count: Five. Unable to determine specific levels.】

Five clouds of black mist detached themselves from the shadows of the surrounding tree trunks, transforming into five masked, black-cloaked figures that surrounded the duo.

Lu Mao recognized them. These people were dressed exactly like the mysterious figure who had cornered him in the dungeon last time.

“Choosing to leave the city really played right into our hands. It would have been quite difficult to make a move if you had stayed holed up inside Rhode City.”

The cultist standing in front of Lu Mao and Novia gave a sinister laugh.

Lu Mao said nothing, quietly drawing the short dagger from his waist.

Without another word, they attacked.

Five bursts of black mist erupted simultaneously from the hems of the cultists' cloaks. Each stream of mist twisted and expanded in midair, its ends abruptly splitting into seven or eight pitch-black, thumb-thick tentacles.

These tentacles had no skin or scales, consisting only of a churning, light-devouring, pure darkness.

The five stepped forward in unison as dozens of tentacles descended upon Novia and Lu Mao like a tightening giant net.

Novia's hands expanded into human-sized dragon claws. Pure white arcs of light flashed through the moonlight, severing the foremost three tentacles on impact.

Her left claw clamped down, crushing the fourth tentacle attacking from the side, while her right claw swept across, slicing the fifth one with a cut as smooth as a mirror.

Before the remnants of the black mist could even hit the ground, six more tentacles bore down from the front and overhead at the same time.

The five cultists coordinated with flawless precision.

While the two in front kept her occupied with their tentacles, the one on the left flung compressed black spikes that grazed Novia's shoulder. The moment she shattered the spikes with a backhand strike, two more tentacles lunged from the right, aiming to ambush Lu Mao from behind.

Novia whipped her newly sprouted dragon tail to snap those two tentacles. Before she could retract it, six more tentacles from three other cultists pressed down from above, sealing off any space for her to dodge upward.

Novia unleashed a blast of pure white dragon breath to force back the two in front, using the momentum to dodge the six tentacles from above.

Her breathing grew slightly heavier, and a faint white mark was left on the dragon scales on her shoulder.

Every time they tried to bypass her to attack Lu Mao, she would intercept the attacks with the most efficient movements possible.

But Lu Mao noticed her movements were half a beat slower than when they started—not because she was out of stamina, but because the five cultists' attack rhythm was constantly catching her in the brief moments she took to breathe.

“Step back.”

Lu Mao retreated in response.

Novia withdrew her claws.

Under the moonlight, her body suddenly ballooned. Her human silhouette was torn apart in less than a breath's time as a massive, pure white dragon spread its wings, its colossal body blocking out half the moonlight.

A row of trees snapped in half where her dragon tail swept past. Dragon breath leaked from between her teeth, scorching a haze of hot, moonlit mist into the night.

The five black shadows were forced back step by step. Looking up at the colossal figure that filled their entire field of vision, they gasped in shock:

“With a size like this... this creature is actually a Demon King candidate!”