Outbreak

Birds and beasts along the way scattered in panic as two figures rapidly darted through the forest, chasing each other.

It was Hilia and the muscular, sausage-lipped man. To avoid bringing trouble to Riri Village, Hilia had lured him out.

Hilia nimbly leaped from branch to branch, constantly changing her position. Her pale gold hair fluttered in the wind as she evaded the pursuit of the muscular, sausage-lipped man behind her, occasionally using the cover of the trees to fire arrows back at him.

However, this only slowed him down without dealing any actual damage. The muscular, sausage-lipped man swatted her attacks away as effortlessly as brushing off flies.

“It is useless to struggle, elf. In the end, you will only be captured and presented to the Bishop.”

As he pursued her, the muscular, sausage-lipped man taunted her, trying to persuade Hilia to give up her resistance.

“Wind Pierce!”

Two more arrows imbued with green mana shot toward him. Hilia completely ignored what the sausage-lipped man was saying.

The power carried by the arrows caused the surrounding trees to shake and leaves to fly, but the muscular, sausage-lipped man merely waved his hand—which was shrouded in an ominous, dark purple mana—and easily deflected both attacks.

Was it still not enough?

Seeing this, Hilia's heart gradually sank, and she continued to flee with a grim expression.

Meanwhile, the muscular, sausage-lipped man continued his trash talk:

“Elf, your value is only going up. Even though you are only Tier Three, your speed can actually match mine at Tier Four. But with such high-intensity mana output, how long can you possibly hold out?”

Hilia furrowed her brow upon hearing this, remaining silent.

The sausage-lipped man was right; her mana reserves could not compare to his. Even if her elven talents allowed her to temporarily stay ahead of him, once her mana was completely depleted, she would be left entirely at his mercy.

Yet, engaging in a direct battle with him was not a wise choice either. Her mana, attack power, and defense were all inferior to his. If she dragged the fight out, she would only end up defeated.

The current situation was a dilemma: if she ran, her mana would eventually run dry and she would be caught; if she didn't run, she would be dragged into a battle and still end up exhausting her mana.

To make matters worse, the mana in her necklace had not fully recovered yet; its current strength was only enough to sustain a shield for ten seconds.

Just then, the sausage-lipped man halted. He punched a nearby tree, which snapped with a loud crack. Lifting the massive tree with one hand, he stared coldly at Hilia's retreating figure as she leaped between the branches and muttered, “The game of cat and mouse is over.”

Predicting Hilia's next landing spot, he exerted a sudden burst of strength and hurled the tree like a cannonball, sending it hurtling toward her.

What?!

Hilia's expression shifted. Unable to change her landing spot in time, she was struck mid-air and sent crashing heavily to the ground.

The next instant, before she could even reposition herself, a fist enveloped in ominous, pitch-black mana zoomed toward her abdomen, accompanied by a fierce gust of wind.

The muscular, sausage-lipped man remained expressionless, but seeing Hilia's panicked face, he silently thought to himself, “Sorry, elf. I will apologize to you once you become our companion.”

However, just as his fist was about to strike her, a green barrier of light suddenly materialized, blocking the surprise attack for her.

Seizing the opportunity, Hilia pushed off the ground with one hand and leaped to the side, quickly putting some distance between them before eyeing him warily.

Eight seconds left!

His fist having been blocked, the sausage-lipped man shook his hand and cast a cold gaze at Hilia.

“I did not expect you to have a defensive magic tool on you. Your value has increased yet again!”

“You disgusting creep! Stop measuring the value of a life on your own whim!”

Hilia loudly retorted. Drawing her longbow, a green wind-element magic circle lit up, and an arrow constructed entirely of mana materialized out of thin air onto the bowstring.

A powerful gale whipped up in front of her. Her emerald eyes reflected the shape of the arrow, and her pale gold hair fluttered behind her ears.

“Wind Pierce—Azure Bird's Cry!”

Releasing the string, the green arrow shot forward, its form gradually transforming into a diving bird with outspread wings. It let out a sharp screech as it flew straight toward the sausage-lipped man.

After firing this arrow, Hilia panted slightly, her face turning a bit pale, but her eyes remained locked onto the muscular, sausage-lipped man.

Since I cannot run, I will fight!

This strike was one of her strongest techniques.

Facing this lightning-fast strike, the sausage-lipped man crossed his arms in front of him and clenched his fists, his pitch-black mana surging like flames.

The azure bird struck. The arrow made of wind element mercilessly gnawed at his crossed arms. He felt as though his arms were being sliced by countless sharp knives, sending a dense wave of stinging pain through him.

Now is my chance!

While the sausage-lipped man was busy defending against the biting force of the azure bird, Hilia did not idle. Moving her slender legs, she maneuvered around, firing mana arrows at him from several different angles.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The arrows pierced the air and successfully struck the sausage-lipped man, leaving several bloody holes in his body.

But just as Hilia began to feel fatigued and her speed slowed slightly, she saw it.

The sausage-lipped man's eyes were fixed on her, and his lips curled into a triumphant smirk, as if he had just encountered something delightful. “I finally waited long enough for you to slow down.”

His aura suddenly exploded, easily shattering the azure bird, and he charged at Hilia with lightning speed.

“Demonic Bear Assault!”

No longer was the mana concentrated only on his arms; his entire body was now gushing with ominous mana. Swinging his fists with his robust arms, he was like a wild bear relentlessly clawing at its prey.

His fists rained down upon the green barrier of light. The mark on the sausage-lipped man's forehead grew even darker, and the blood dripping from his wounds only added to his ferocity.

One second, two seconds, three seconds!

“The power of that strike just now already touched the threshold of peak Tier Three. Elf, your value is getting higher and higher!”

His fists moved with mechanical precision, yet his voice grew increasingly excited.

Hilia gritted her teeth and ignored him. Relying on the protection of her necklace, she leaped backward, hoping to put some distance between them again and conserve the remaining time.

But to her dismay, his fists followed immediately. No matter which direction she turned, his punches would catch up the very next second. Thus, while the necklace's shield blocked several attacks for her, the remaining time was quickly running out.

Five seconds, four seconds, three seconds, two seconds!

With only one second left, Hilia was sent flying, crashing heavily into the ground. The impact created a large crater, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.

With a cruel smile on his face, the sausage-lipped man slowly approached Hilia and said, “What a pity. If you were Tier Four, I probably would not have been a match for you. After all, I have no ranged attacks and can only tank your damage. Fortunately for me, you are only Tier Three, so I can endure your attacks.”

“Now, it is time to use you as a punching bag. This is the first time I have ever encountered such a valuable punching bag. Don't worry, you won't be turned into minced meat like the previous ones. Once you join our glorious Demon God Cult and become our companion, I will apologize to you.”

However, as he slowly drew near, a cold gleam flashed through the dust, and Hilia appeared behind him almost instantaneously.

She raised a longsword that gleamed with a cold light and slashed at his back. Her hair was messy, and her exquisite, pretty face was smudged with gray dust, but her eyes shone with a fierce light. Her voice was filled with rage:

“I told you, stop measuring the value of my life on a whim!”

The longsword swung down, slashing heavily across his back. In an instant, blood gushed out like a geyser, spraying a tall column of red from his back.