An Ominous Premonition

Seeing Ronid raise his staff, she immediately dragged the Rock-Crushing Mountain with both hands.

The heavy axe blade plowed a shallow furrow in the ground.

Her steps were swift and heavy as she charged toward Ronid with clear purpose.

She might not understand complex tactics, but she knew perfectly well that she couldn't let him cast his magic.

Bai Xuan did not stop her. He wanted to see for himself what kind of performance Phoebe could deliver in actual combat with her talent.

At that moment, a thought suddenly crossed Bai Xuan's mind.

Perhaps that Subordinate Contract had finally found someone who could use it.

In a warrior-versus-mage matchup, as long as he kept a close eye from the side and stopped Ronid from casting any powerful spells in time, Phoebe could avoid most of the damage.

Furthermore, Phoebe was also bolstered by the Guardian Pendant.

Even if Ronid launched a sneak attack, she would easily be able to withstand the blow.

Bai Xuan gripped his staff tightly, keeping his eyes locked on the battlefield, ready to assist at any moment.

Mounted on his black deer, Ronid looked down from above, his staff resting across his knees.

The eyes behind his lenses scrutinized the charging Phoebe, his gaze resembling someone admiring a delicate yet fragile piece of art.

In the next second, he pressed his staff down slightly, and a pitch-black shadow blade sliced toward Phoebe, accompanied by a fierce gust of wind.

Reacting instantly, Phoebe dodged to the side while raising her axe in front of her to block.

With a crisp clang, the shadow blade slammed hard against the face of the axe.

The immense impact forced her to stagger back two steps, but she did not fall.

Once she stabilized her stance, she did not pause for even a second, continuing her fierce charge toward Ronid.

Ronid's expression shifted slightly, and he hastily squeezed the black deer's flanks.

The black deer leaped nimbly to the side, just barely evading the sweeping arc of Phoebe's axe.

The edge of the axe grazed the deer's leg, shaving off a few tufts of black fur.

The black deer let out a pained neigh, leaping several steps further to the side to widen the gap.

Standing in the rear, Bai Xuan watched Phoebe's fighting figure intently, silently analyzing her combat capabilities.

Her speed was fast enough, and her strength was sufficiently astonishing.

The only drawback was that her fighting style was too straightforward; she didn't adapt her moves flexibly, charging head-on the entire time.

Even so, her basic attributes were already extremely close to the Practitioner Rank.

And against a mage like Ronid, as long as she could successfully close the distance, she would hold the upper hand.

Seeing Phoebe swing her axe at him again, Ronid squeezed the deer's flanks once more, and the black deer leaped nimbly to the side, dodging the attack again.

Phoebe's swing missed, and her heavy axe slammed violently into the ground.

With a loud boom, dirt and gravel splattered everywhere, leaving a basin-sized crater in the earth.

Ronid raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement flickering in his eyes.

Then, with a gentle tap of his staff, a black shadow tentacle suddenly shot out from the shadow beneath Phoebe's feet, tightly wrapping around her ankle.

Phoebe's footsteps abruptly ground to a halt.

Glancing down at the shadow tentacle bound around her ankle, she stomped her foot down without the slightest hesitation.

The shadow tentacle was instantly shattered, but this brief delay still caused her movements to lag by a beat.

Seizing this window, Ronid immediately urged his deer to pull back.

Waving his staff repeatedly, several shadow blades shot toward Phoebe simultaneously from different directions.

Phoebe swiftly turned her body, raising the face of her axe before her. After several crisp clangs, the shadow blades all crashed against the axe.

The immense impact forced her back two steps, leaving her arms numb.

Right at that moment, a faint white glow suddenly surfaced on her body.

She had activated her skill, 【Unyielding Bastion】.

A thin halo enveloped her body, neutralizing most of the shadow blades' residual impact.

Bai Xuan still stood in the rear, gripping his staff tightly without rushing to make a move.

He could see very clearly that Ronid was deliberately avoiding Phoebe's vital points with every strike.

Obviously, he was holding back, not truly aiming to kill.

“Oh, your shadow magic is quite interesting.”

Bai Xuan spoke slowly, his tone lazy and carrying a hint of nonchalance.

“The shadow that chased us earlier was your magic, wasn't it? Being able to track people like that shows you have some skill.”

As Ronid nimbly dodged Phoebe's attacks, he turned back to reply, his tone dripping with sarcastic admiration.

“You're quite sharp, but unfortunately, your brain isn't fully developed. Running around with such a pretty little beauty... aren't you practically begging for people to target you?”

Bai Xuan did not take the bait. After a few seconds of silence, he pressed further.

“Back in Blackcreek Town, you must have recognized me using your shadow magic, right? I'm curious, why did you pretend not to know me then?”

Ronid's movements paused slightly, and then a smile spread across his face.

The smile seemed refined, but a bone-chilling coldness lurked in the depths of his eyes.

“I originally wanted to see what kind of waves a little fish like you could make, but as it turns out, you're just a petty thief.”

Phoebe had no interest in listening to their verbal sparring. Gripping her axe tightly, she charged at Ronid once more.

Mounted on the black deer, Ronid dodged left and right, his movements as agile as a matador's, narrowly escaping the sweep of Phoebe's axe each time.

As he dodged, he waved his staff, sending several shadow blades flying toward Phoebe from different directions once more.

Phoebe blocked with her axe again, but one shadow blade still bypassed the face of the axe, grazing her arm.

A small cut opened on her skin, and tiny beads of blood immediately seeped out.

Yet she didn't even furrow her brow, continuing to charge forward with unwavering determination.

Seeing the faint golden light on Phoebe's body, Ronid's eyes filled with even more amusement.

“A defensive skill? Quite interesting.”

He called out to Phoebe, his tone carrying a hint of temptation.

“Little girl, what kind of future is there in following that penniless kid? What can he possibly give you?”

“Why don't you come to my side? I'll show you true power, and a completely different future.”

Bai Xuan chimed in from behind at the perfect moment, his tone carrying a hint of mockery.

“She can't be bothered to pay attention to you. You might as well save your breath.”

The moment his words fell, Phoebe's axe sliced through the air again with a fierce gust of wind.

Ronid hastily dodged to the side, the smile on his face gradually fading.

As if she knew no fatigue, Phoebe launched one fierce attack after another. Her speed didn't decrease in the slightest, nor did her strength weaken at all.

After several exchanges, Ronid was nearly struck by the axe multiple times.

The black deer's legs throbbed with pain from the flying stones kicked up by the axe, causing it to neigh and buck restlessly.

Under Phoebe's relentless onslaught, his patience was gradually ground down to nothing.

“Ungrateful brat!” Ronid cursed under his breath. With a sudden surge of killing intent in his eyes, he swung his staff violently.

A shadow blade far larger than any before sliced through the air with a sharp, piercing screech, hurtling toward Phoebe.

Phoebe gritted her teeth and blocked with the face of her axe, resulting in a loud metallic crash.

The immense impact forced her back several steps. Her arms went numb, and the webbing between her thumb and index finger split open, letting blood slowly trickle down the handle of the axe.

Before she could even stabilize her footing, another shadow blade followed right on its heels.

This time, she had no time to dodge. The shadow blade struck her left shoulder squarely.

A deep gash instantly ripped open, and blood welled out, quickly staining half of her sleeve red.

Ronid froze for a moment.

Then, a hypocritical, apologetic smile spread across his face, his tone sickeningly gentle.

“Oh dear, I accidentally hurt you. I'm truly sorry,” he said insincerely.

“I didn't want to treat you like this...”

Yet the greed in his eyes was almost spilling over, entirely unconcealed.

Clutching her bleeding left shoulder, Phoebe slowly backed away a few steps to put some distance between them.

She merely glanced down at the wound with a flat expression, wiping the beads of blood from her cheek with the back of her hand.

Then, she gripped her axe tightly once more, staring at Ronid without the slightest hint of retreat.

In those golden eyes, there was not a shred of fear, only cold hostility.

Seeing the blood seeping from Phoebe's shoulder, Bai Xuan's heart instantly sank.

Without a moment's hesitation, he raised his staff and activated 【Holy Light Catalyst】.

A gentle yet powerful golden light slowly descended upon Phoebe's shoulder.

The once-gruesome wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, eventually leaving only a faint red mark.

Immediately after, 【Pain Empowerment】 followed right behind the holy light.

Converting all the residual, agonizing pain of the wound into a surging torrent of power, it coursed through Phoebe's body, spreading to her entire being.

“I'm healing you. Bear with it, control your emotions, and keep your mind steady!”

Bai Xuan shouted in a deep voice. Knowing the side effects of Pain Empowerment, he made sure to emphasize this warning to Phoebe.

He wanted to prevent her mind from being overwhelmed by the sudden influx of power.

Phoebe looked down at her healed shoulder and slowly tightened her grip on the Rock-Crushing Mountain.

The newly born power surged in like a rising tide, instantly filling her arms with explosive strength.

The originally heavy battleaxe now felt light as a feather, as if she could split the earth beneath her feet with just a fraction of her strength.

As for the emotions Bai Xuan spoke of, they had absolutely no effect on her.

She turned to look at Bai Xuan, her gaze still as calm as ice.

Only her fingers wrapping around the axe handle tightened slightly, and her eyebrows twitched ever so subtly.

Having followed Bai Xuan for only a day or two, she knew next to nothing about his healing and enhancement abilities, so a ripple of surprise naturally stirred in her heart.

Watching their interaction from the side, Ronid's face turned so dark it looked ready to drip ink, and the fury in his eyes seemed on the verge of erupting.

A flash of ruthlessness crossed his eyes, and he gritted his teeth.

“Since you refuse to be obedient, I'll just have to break you first before taking you away.”

Before his voice even faded, he swung his staff violently. This time, he held nothing back, the shadow energy around him churning wildly.

Several shadow blades, larger and denser than before, hurtled directly toward Phoebe's face with a sharp, piercing screech, determined to severely wound her.

Phoebe did not retreat in the slightest. She steadily raised the Rock-Crushing Mountain, its body crackling with a faint purple electricity.

The Rock-Crushing Mountain's 【Thunder Vein Resonance】 and her own 【Unyielding Bastion】 skill stacked upon one another.

She then closed in and unleashed a violent, sweeping strike with her axe.

With a series of sharp clangs, the shadow blades were shattered into pieces.

A powerful shockwave rippled outward, ripping the turf right off the ground and leaving behind a total mess.

Ronid's face warped in shock; he had never expected Phoebe's strength to become so formidable.

Without time to overthink, he immediately cast several Shadow Binds in succession, attempting to trap her.

Black tentacles violently shot out from the shadow beneath Phoebe's feet, wrapping toward her limbs.

But Phoebe simply stomped her foot heavily, and the golden halo around her instantly exploded outward, shattering the shadow tentacles to pieces.

Immediately after, she shot forward like a cannonball, her giant axe pointing directly at Ronid.

Pale with fright, Ronid hastily urged the black deer to dodge.

But Phoebe's speed was incomparably faster than before. The edge of her axe sliced precisely across the deer's body, causing blood to instantly spray out.

The black deer let out a pitiful shriek, collapsing heavily to the ground and twitching uncontrollably.

Unable to stabilize his balance in time, Ronid was thrown off by the momentum.

He rolled on the ground several times, his staff slipping from his grip.

The gold-rimmed glasses on his face were knocked askew, and his hair was a disheveled mess, making him look incredibly disreputable.

Propping himself up to rise, he stared at Phoebe in disbelief, his voice trembling.

“How is this possible? You... you're just an Awakened Rank! How could you possess this kind of power?!”

During the moment Ronid lost his composure, Bai Xuan was not idle either.

He gripped the Staff of Guidance, he hurled it violently toward Ronid.

The staff spun rapidly in the air, enveloped in a dazzling golden light as it whistled toward Ronid like a meteor, unstoppable.

Still shaken, Ronid hastily rolled out of the way in a panic.

With a squelch, the staff plunged deep into the soil right beside him.

In the next second, with a whoosh, it flew back into Bai Xuan's hand in a streak of golden light.

Before Ronid could catch his breath, another strike from the staff was already on its way.

In a scramble, he pulled a talisman from his waist and crushed it, which transformed into a cloud of black mist that enveloped him.

Relying on the concealment and speed boost of the black mist, he repeatedly shifted to the side to dodge.

He had absolutely no opportunity to stabilize his stance or organize an effective counterattack, leaving him completely on the defensive.

Seizing the opportunity, Phoebe closed in step by step, her giant axe slicing down again and again with a fierce gust of wind.

Ronid could only continuously channel his remaining shadows to form small, fragmented shadow shields in front of him to block.

The moment a shadow shield was shattered by the giant axe, he would use the brief speed boost of his shadows to retreat in a flurry.

His breathing grew increasingly ragged, cold sweat drenched his forehead, and the crystal at the tip of his staff gradually began to dim.

“Damn it!”

Ronid gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with resentment and fury.

He slammed his staff violently onto the ground, and a black Shadow Prison instantly rose from the earth.

Dark light flowed along the bars of the prison, trapping Phoebe securely inside.

He let out a sigh of relief. This Shadow Prison magic was far more solid than his previous Shadow Shroud.

He had deliberately altered the casting structure and range to prevent it from being broken by brute force like before.

Yet Phoebe didn't panic at all, raising her giant axe to hack fiercely at the bars of the Shadow Prison several times.

It felt like hitting a viscous liquid, showing absolutely no movement, making it clear that she couldn't break out through brute force.

Bai Xuan did not continue throwing his staff, merely standing quietly to the side, looking at Ronid coldly.

There was not a single ripple of emotion in his eyes, yet they exuded an invisible sense of pressure.

Seeing that Bai Xuan had stopped attacking, Ronid did not feel relieved; instead, he grew even more uneasy.

An ominous premonition began to spread in his heart.

He suddenly felt the thing inside his body starting to grow restless.

His fingers trembled uncontrollably, his face flushed red and pale by turns, and a thick taste of blood welled up in his throat.

He knew that if he delayed any longer, something terrible would happen, and he had to leave immediately.

“Consider yourselves lucky today!”