Cats Have Excellent Balance

When Rhine rushed to the northwestern corner of the camp, it was practically in ruins.

Shattered earth walls and broken tiles were scattered everywhere. The few adobe houses that had once been relatively neat were now reduced to half-collapsed ruins. The air was thick with the smell of dust and scorched earth, and wails of pain echoed one after another.

In the center of the ruins was a massive crater, and right beside it stood the colossal silhouette of the earth stinger.

But what made Rhine's eyelid twitch violently was that skeletal hounds were crawling out of the earth stinger's crater one by one.

They shook the sand and dirt from their bodies, scanning their surroundings with hollow eye sockets. Their heads twitched slightly, as if searching for something.

“That damn necromancer.”

Seeing these undead creations, Rhine knew all too well that the earth stinger was connected to the necromancer. What he couldn't wrap his head around, however, was how the other party had managed to control this desert monster.

But Sara gave Rhine no time to think. She swung her massive pincers directly at him, forcing him to leap backward in retreat.

Seizing this opportunity, the skeletal hounds seemed to find their target. They turned their heads toward the southwestern corner of the camp and bolted in that direction without looking back.

“Damn it!”

Rhine only had to glance at where the skeletal hounds were running to understand the enemy's intention. He certainly wasn't going to sit back and wait for death, so he lifted his leg to give chase.

But a flash of green light caught the corner of his eye. His heart sank, and he was forced to dodge once more.

After a few exchanges, Rhine realized that the creature was specifically targeting him. Left with no choice, he barked at his personal guards, “Take some men to the courtyard! The rest of you, help me finish this thing off!”

The guard accepted the order, taking three or four men and rushing toward the courtyard.

Rhine turned back to the earth stinger, tightening his grip on his longsword.

Having lived in the Golden Sea for ten years, he was no stranger to earth stingers.

The creature possessed a rock-hard carapace, and its only weaknesses were the joint connections and the gaps on its underbelly. In an open area, he would have chosen to run immediately. But right now, he had no choice.

Rhine flourished his sword, his silhouette suddenly blurring. In the next instant, he appeared right in front of the earth stinger. His blade flashed forward, crackling with faint sparks of electricity as he aimed for Sara's foreleg.

But Sara simply tilted her body, tanking the strike head-on with her thick carapace. The blade scraped across the surface, leaving behind a trail of fine sparks and scorched marks.

Rhine backed away, his face grim as he looked at the virtually unscathed earth stinger. His figure blurred again as he launched a relentless barrage of attacks.

After dozens of strikes, Rhine's breathing began to grow ragged. Yet, Sara remained completely unhurried, exuding the calm composure of a predator playing with its prey.

Rhine stared at the earth stinger, his eyes narrowing. Something felt off.

Is this creature... stalling for time?

The moment the thought arose, a jolt of realization flashed through Rhine's mind, connecting all the recent events together.

He whipped his head toward the courtyard. The men he had sent out had not returned, and not even the sound of fighting could be heard from that direction...

Rhine's heart grew heavier. His guess was likely spot on.

This oppressive weight left him speechless, especially after he dodged another Petrification Ray from Sara and watched the earth stinger's silhouette retreat back into the crater.

Another loud crash echoed, this time from the direction of the main gate. It sounded as though something massive was violently battering against it.

Before Rhine could figure out what was happening, the sound rang out again. Then a third time, a fourth. By the fifth impact, the heavy wooden bolt on the gate let out an overburdened screech and snapped instantly.

The oak doors, finally unable to withstand the force, collapsed inward, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

Then, a towering figure emerged from the dust.

It was a sand scaler, but his size far exceeded that of his kin. Standing nearly two meters tall with broad shoulders and a wide back, his scales gleamed with a brilliant golden luster under the surrounding torchlight.

Standing on the collapsed doors, he slowly pulled back the shoulder he had used to ram the gate. Opening only a single eyelid, he swept his gaze across the panicked crowd inside the camp, then stepped aside to clear the way.

Behind him, sand scalers and guards filed in one after another, quickly establishing a defensive formation on both sides of the gateway.

Finally, a fiery silhouette appeared in the light of the flames.

Alicia climbed over the debris of the ruined doors. With her sword in hand, her violet eyes swept sharply across the entire camp.

“It’s the royal family!”

“The Third Imperial Princess!”

“It’s over! We’re completely finished!”

The lackeys in the camp were already in a panic from the earth stinger's attack. Now, seeing the princess lead her forces inside, their morale collapsed instantly.

Some threw down their weapons and fled, while even more dropped straight to their knees in surrender.

Rhine watched the scene unfold, his face terribly grim. But he didn't give up, because a sliver of hope still remained for him.

As long as the hostage was in his hands, he still had leverage to negotiate.

“With me!”

Gritting his teeth, he ignored the scattering lackeys and dashed straight toward the courtyard, his remaining personal guards close behind.

His speed was astonishing. His afterimages flickered through the narrow alleyways, and within a few breaths, he vaulted over the wall and landed inside the courtyard.

Then, he froze in his tracks.

There were already people in the courtyard.

Three figures stood before the small cottage. On the far left was a pale young man wearing a sand-resistant robe, his expression calm.

In the middle was a silver-haired girl wrapped tightly in bands of emerald-green light. Only her legs were free to move, and she was hopping up and down in place in a highly comical fashion.

And the middle-aged man with dark green hair on the far right was someone Rhine recognized—Elon Windrunner.

His gaze quickly swept over the three of them.

The girl was bound and posed no threat. Elon was a druid, and though he was troublesome, the personal guards could tie him down in the Golden Sea.

As for the pale young man, he was almost certainly the necromancer.

If he could get close and capture him, he would have another bargaining chip to use against the princess.

“Go! Tie down the green-haired one!”

At Rhine's command, the guards instantly lunged at Elon.

Meanwhile, Rhine himself charged straight at the pale young man like a bolt of silver lightning.

He was incredibly fast and filled with confidence. Even with his mana suppressed, his raw physical explosiveness was more than enough to catch any ordinary person off guard.

Yes, just like this necromancer, who couldn't even manage a look of surprise.

He had him!

A smirk was already forming on Rhine's lips, his fingertips nearly brushing the other's shoulder.

However, in the next instant...

A massive force slammed violently into his ribs from the side. Rhine was sent flying sideways, his back crashing heavily into the courtyard's earth wall and leaving a deep crater in it.

He spat out a mouthful of bloody froth, his vision fading to black.

Through his blurred vision, he saw the silver-haired girl—who should have been practically immobilized—land steadily on the ground from midair, then continue hopping up and down in place.

Sern's tail lashed irritably behind her, and her eyes glared fiercely at Rhine. Because of the restraint over her mouth, she could only let out muffled, incoherent grunts.

Meanwhile, Shane stood there and spoke to Elon, who had already finished off the guards. “See? I told you her physical capabilities are excellent.”

Rhine felt his vision being consumed by darkness bit by bit. The final image he saw was the silver-haired girl hopping toward him, her furious face growing larger and larger in his eyes.