This money is really hard to earn!
He originally planned just to bring the child for a quick look.
No matter what happened, he would use his silver tongue to trick the boy away first.
Of course, it would be best if Mr. Ford was still alive.
Who knew the situation would instantly turn into wolves in front and tigers behind, with a group of legendary hunters crashing the party in the middle.
That siren was clearly a size larger than before, and the three pursuers from the Mist Veil Society in front of him were even more murderous.
If he thought about it optimistically, having the Mist Veil Society members infighting with the siren would be a huge help!
But that was clearly wishful thinking.
No matter who this sudden third party was, their attitude was unknown, so it was best not to meet them.
Right now, although he didn't know where the other two members of the original five-man group had gone, at least these three gentlemen hadn't been fooled by his nonsense.
Of course, Elias hadn't expected to fool them either.
The moment he finished speaking, Elias moved.
His right hand shot toward the small of his back like a bolt of lightning, moving so fast it left an afterimage in the air.
Click—
The crisp sound of the hammer cocking was exceptionally piercing in the deathly silent passage.
Almost simultaneously with drawing the gun, 【Moonlight Enchantment】 was activated. Pale moonlight climbed onto the gun's body, instantly covering the intricate patterns upon it.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three gunshots rang out in such rapid succession they almost merged into one.
The first shot, Scorching.
The second shot, Dark Erosion.
The third shot, Radiance.
The hammer of the single-action revolver made Elias's right thumb sting with pain.
Fortunately, he had nearly reached twenty percent of the speed of an American fast-draw from his previous life.
Three streaks of light in different colors shot out in three directions, whistling through the air as they lunged straight at the three men opposite him.
After firing these three shots, Elias didn't even glance at the results. Without any hesitation, his left hand reached back and scooped up Aaron, tucking the boy under his arm like a sack of potatoes.
"Run!"
He twisted violently, using the strength of his core to force a change in direction, and bolted back the way they came.
The three members of the Mist Veil Society clearly hadn't expected their opponent to suddenly lash out with such decisive and ruthless force.
In the instant Elias drew his gun, out of transcendent instinct, the three hadn't even had time to draw their own weapons.
They immediately performed tactical evasion maneuvers, diving toward the left corner, the right ditch, and forward, respectively.
Even so, in this narrow sewer passage, it was nearly impossible to completely avoid elemental bullets buffed by 【Moonlight Enchantment】.
The first shot, a Scorching bullet with a crimson trail, was narrowly avoided by the Scale One fellow who happened to dive into the corner.
The bullet slammed into the damp stone brick wall, exploding into an orange-red fireball that instantly vaporized a large patch of moss, filling the air with the smell of scorched earth.
But the remaining two weren't so lucky.
That Radiance bullet, specifically designed to counter evil, accurately struck the strongest Scale Three.
"Aaaargh—!!!"
A shrill scream instantly echoed through the entire underground space.
A burst of blinding white light erupted from his shoulder.
It wasn't just a physical piercing wound; it carried the purification damage of a holy attribute.
Clusters of bright white flames, similar to beacon flames, ignited from the wound and spread rapidly across his body as if they were alive.
He collapsed onto the sewage-covered ground, rolling in agony, his hands clutching his shoulder as his nails dug into his flesh, letting out a gut-wrenching roar.
Strike while he's down?
In his dreams!
Elias was self-aware. Although that Scale Three was wounded, he wasn't dead, and there were two helpers beside him.
Looking to the other side.
The black Dark Erosion bullet hit the other Scale One fellow.
However, to Elias's disappointment, that guy merely let out a muffled groan.
His body didn't seem to suffer much impact from the Dark Erosion damage.
It seemed these guys had some kind of resistance to Dark Erosion effects.
"Damn it!"
The Scale One pursuer soon scrambled to his feet, a vicious light gleaming in his eyes.
He raised his hand, dark green energy surging in his palm.
Elias recognized it; it was the Scale One 【Eldritch Blast】 that Firth had used.
Seeing the green beam of light shoot from the opponent's hand, heading straight for the center of his back.
He pushed off hard with his feet, carrying Aaron under his arm in a sudden stop and turn, narrowly avoiding the green beam and diving straight into a fork to the front left.
The green beam following him blasted a black crater into the ground.
This time, they were probably going to get lost for real.
The sewers here branched out in all directions. Once they deviated from the original path, heaven knew where it would lead.
But survival came first!
While sprinting, Elias distracted himself to circulate his spirituality.
【Moonlight Veil】
In an instant, a layer of illusory, veil-like silver moonlight emerged out of thin air, quickly wrapping around their bodies.
Their figures became somewhat blurred in the dim passage, merging with the surrounding shadows.
Of course, this was also because it was currently daytime and they were underground without actual moonlight to bolster it, so the spell's effect was greatly diminished.
Their figures only became slightly illusory, far from the near-invisibility strength achieved at night.
Yet in this sewer of shifting light and shadow, even this tiny bit of visual error could be the distance between life and death.
"Can you put me down so I can run myself?"
Suddenly, Aaron, who had been tucked under Elias's arm the whole time, shouted through the mental channel.
His voice was filled with helplessness and the pain of being bounced around until he wanted to vomit.
Elias paused for a moment, suddenly feeling the ache in his arm.
"Fine!"
Running like this with a whole person was indeed physically taxing.
Furthermore, this posture wasn't conducive to tactical maneuvers.
Elias slowed down slightly and loosened his grip, setting Aaron down.
"Keep close to me, don't fall behind..."
"What the hell?"
Before he could finish his sentence, Elias's eyes widened.
The moment Aaron's feet touched the ground, he took off with a zero-frame startup, zooming ahead like an arrow.
Elias had originally intended to give the kid a hand, but now he was the one struggling to keep up.
He looked at the small back that had already pulled two lengths ahead of him, panting as he used every ounce of strength, yet he could barely keep up.
Now he finally knew why this kid could escape from a group of Mist Veil Society lunatics and make it all the way to the Society of Freemen alive!
'He's a Scale Two, are you stupid?'
Old Ed's voice, not missing the chance to enjoy the show, echoed lazily in his mind with unmasked mockery.
'While a spirit vision potion primarily enhances spirituality, it also provides limited physical reinforcement to the user.'
'Furthermore, the physical reinforcement of a typical Scale Two is definitely stronger than a Scale One like you.'
'If you really treat this kid like an ordinary child, you're being too naive.'
Elias panted heavily as he struggled to chase the child ahead, replying through gritted teeth in his mind.
'Shut the hell up!'
Who could have guessed?
A twelve-year-old brat ran faster than he did!
'There's a reason the Mist Veil Society sent one Scale Three, two Scale Twos, and two Scale Ones to hunt him down!'
Elias comforted himself.
'This kind of treatment isn't something just anyone can enjoy!'
The two of them sprinted through the complex pipes, one after the other. Rapid, chaotic footsteps echoed from behind, indicating that the three pursuers had recovered and were in hot pursuit.
Bang! Bang!
Several gunshots exploded behind them, bullets striking the nearby pipes and kicking up a shower of sparks.
Elias's scalp tingled. He didn't need to look back to know the distance was closing.
"Time to turn!"
Regardless of whether he could hit anything, he raised his revolver behind him and fired two shots by feel to suppress the pursuers' speed.
'Aaron! That intersection ahead! Turn right!'
He shouted in his mind.
Aaron obeyed, making a sharp turn and nimbly diving into the right-hand passage.
However, just then.
Boom—!!!
A dull roar, louder than any previous commotion, suddenly exploded from Elias's diagonal rear, on the opposite bank of the sewage river.
The entire sewer seemed to undergo an earthquake as dust fell from the ceiling like rain.
Elias instinctively glanced back.
This one look nearly scared the soul out of him.
The thick stone brick wall across the sewage river was smashed open by a massive force as if it were made of paper.
Amidst flying bricks and stones, a huge and deformed figure, covered in blood and rubble, crashed out like an out-of-control heavy truck.
It was the siren!
It plunged directly into the wide sewage river in the middle.
A massive splash rose several meters high, and the foul black water nearly drenched Elias.
'Damn it!'
'Am I really going to die in this gods-forsaken filth today?!'
Elias cursed in his mind.
'It won't be that agonizing,'
Old Ed added with precision.
'There's a high probability you'll end up in your old rival's belly.'
'Eventually becoming its waste and returning to nature.'
'I really appreciate the reminder!'
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