Chapter 206: Chapter 205: A Quick Escape
The amber-colored giant rock grew from small to large, about to occupy all of Jima’s field of vision in an instant.
Jima struggled to stand up, her body tormented by the aftereffects of the “explosion” and poison; even the strong will to survive made it difficult for her to merely flap her wings once, and she moved only a meter.
The giant rock came crashing down.
“Boom!”
The ground trembled, shaking Jima’s insides, making her head throb painfully.
She wasn’t hit directly, as another “stand-in puppet” took the brunt of the impact, shattering into pieces.
However, Jima’s magical power had burned through most of her energy due to the “explosion,” and had been used frequently in a short amount of time, especially the “stand-in puppet,” a life-saving skill that consumed enormous amounts of magic.
The symptoms of magical exhaustion hit her immediately after she escaped the catastrophe. Her internal organs writhed as if they had their own independent life, cold sweat dripped down her fair face, her eyeballs trembled, and for a moment, Jima lost her vision.
Fly up, quickly fly up, take advantage of the fact that she’s still invisible.
Jima strained to move her soft, weakened wings, spreading them to flap, barely getting half a meter off the ground.
“Bang.”
Jima felt something collide with her and fell to the ground again. Her eyeballs stopped trembling, and as she looked up, she saw a horned beast lowering its sheep head, staring at her in surprise after she crashed out of the air, confirming she was indeed the charm demon that sang and demanded the lives of beasts while flying around.
The horned beast’s fist hardened (because it had lost its weapon), and just as it was about to punch Jima, she blinked at it innocently and cast a charming gaze:
“Baabaa, you are so adorable.”
The horned beast’s heart raced; in its eyes, Jima transformed into the cutest person in the world, comparable to the mother of all beasts. Its fist softened again.
At that moment, the one-eyed giant, standing high and seeing far, spotted Jima and roared as it charged over, intending to crush this charm demon that sang near its ear into smithereens.
Jima stood up and pointed at the one-eyed giant while speaking in beast language to the horned beast, “Could you help me talk to this old brother? Thanks.”
After speaking, she turned and walked away.
The horned beast turned back and unhesitatingly charged toward the one-eyed giant in an attempt to mediate. The one-eyed giant crushed the eager horned beast under its hoof.
This wasn’t a solution; she couldn’t escape and couldn’t fight back, no matter how strong her life-saving abilities were, she couldn’t evade the fate of death. Damn, when would her wings recover?
Jima, who was fleeing alongside a group of horned beasts, felt the long-lost threat of death.
She vowed that if she survived and returned, she would write a thousand-word, no, three thousand-word summary report, summarizing all the mistakes made in this battle.
A shadow caught up to Jima, and a whistling wind echoed in the sky.
Were they throwing stones?
Jima nearly panicked and turned her head to look back, only to see the one-eyed giant, whose head was now sporting a large wound, toppling toward the ground. Below, the horned beasts cried and begged for their lives, trying to escape; any unfortunate ones that fell were crushed beneath the giant.
The rising yellow dust surged toward her, and Jima instinctively crossed her arms to shield her face. The dust, influenced by her “superior charm,” deflected, outlining the radius of the spherical area affected by Jima’s “superior charm.”
“I am the Giant Butcher!”
An annoying voice pierced Jima’s ears. She looked up through the gradually dissipating dust and saw a blood-drenched black knight standing atop the dying one-eyed giant, raising his knight’s sword to bask in the cheers of the crowd.
Unfortunately, the battlefield was in chaos. The horned beasts were busy fleeing, while the knights that broke through were either chasing or escaping; behind them, wave after wave of Bartok infantry was rushing to escape, along with the remaining pursuing one-eyed giants.
Only a few knights noticed him, raising their knight swords in applause.
At that moment, George charged over toward them.
The black knight yelled at George, “I’ve won again! Twice!”
The red-haired dark elf knight, Barsa, was galloping alongside on her sleek black warhorse, her only target being Jima. To her, the outcome of this battle was irrelevant.
However, upon hearing the black knight’s roar, she couldn’t help but turn back and yell in the common tongue, “A head-hunting monkey! Stop making such a fuss here.”
Enraged, the black knight jumped down from the one-eyed giant, shouting, “Long-eared bitch, I’m going to cut off your ears!”
With a single strike, he severed Barsa’s horse’s head.
Barska landed gracefully and retaliated, “Uncivilized monkey!”
The blade drew a crimson arc through the air, slicing into the black knight’s shoulder armor, spilling blood.
“Ahhh!” the black knight roared as his sword swung, “For the goddess! I’ll rip your lips off.”
You seem to believe in the blood god more.
While Jima thought this, she used her magic to remain invisible and continued to flee amid the chaos of their battle.
“Pfft!”
A flash erupted above her, cascading beams of light and sparks that stripped away her invisibility.
A dark elf, with a tousled high ponytail and a purple-black mask covering her face, revealed herself atop a tree trunk. She took aim with a runic heavy crossbow, firing a pair of poisoned darts at Jima.
Fortunately, they were deflected by her “superior charm,” landing harmlessly on the ground.
The Cain assassin cursed in Elvish, “Why is it so hard to kill? We’ve killed three heads of the hydra already!”
This squad of dark elves was lying in ambush here, waiting for an opportunity, yet they’ve failed multiple times to kill Jima.
Jima gave him the middle finger, and the assassin whistled. From the tree trunks emerged several dark female elves with powdery skin, dressed revealingly, flaunting eight-pack abs, bizarre symbols inked on their snow-white thighs, wearing black leather long socks, wielding dual daggers, and could leap effortlessly onto tree branches three meters away.
Witch Spirits!
These dark female maniacs, filled with thoughts of slaughter, moved swiftly with killing techniques that were superb. Their daggers always managed to pierce through weak armor spots and even easily penetrated steel.
The Witch Spirits leapt down from the trees, charging toward Jima. On their way, they slashed the arteries of any horned beasts in their path, leaving them to wail on the ground, their purple-eyed gazes fixed on Jima.
Under normal circumstances, Jima would be thrilled if a group of well-toned women in black stockings rushed toward her.
But now, with no other options, Jima cried out in despair and turned to flee.
“Whoosh!”
Another pair of poisoned darts shot at Jima. She dodged and fell to the ground, scrambling to get up on all fours.
While crawling, she frantically pulled out a signal flare from her waist and tossed it wildly:
“George, save me!!!”
“I’m coming!”
A familiar male voice echoed nearby, and Jima’s heart leaped with joy.
In this chaotic battlefield, the charm demon, with her poor direct combat ability, was at a severe disadvantage. Just because she was hit with poison, her escape ability was limited, leaving such a distinguished platinum unable even to crawl away. She had to rely on rugged warrior classes to rescue her.
Jima glanced in the direction where George was coming from. With wings of light spread wide, he soared over the heads of many horned beasts when suddenly a massive shadow collided into him, sending George flying and injuring a horned beast. He tumbled on the ground, and the straps of his shoulder armor had already suffered under the strain, snapping as the armor and barrel helmet fell aside.
Just as George pushed himself up, a giant horned bull burst through the dust. It was excessively muscular, with its arms as thick as pillars. Holding a massive axe, it jumped down to bring all its power and weight crashing down on George.
George tried to deflect the axe head with a holy slash, but having never before met such an overwhelmingly powerful opponent, he couldn’t redirect it and had to take it head-on.
The force slammed George’s knees to the ground, burying them into the earth, the axe blade dangerously close to his forehead, drawing blood that trickled down his brow.
“Is this all you’ve got?” the giant horned bull, sporting a scar on its face, bellowed. “I am the strongest son of the mother!”
The ensuing chaotic axe swings and George’s struggle, along with the restriction from several dark elves, left George completely unable to break free.
How strong must this creature be to hold George back?
Jima’s spirits sank as she continued to escape with all her might.
A poisoned dart struck her squarely in the back, and Jima collapsed once more.
Several of the Witch Spirits stepped on the shoulders of horned beasts, leaping into the air while cutting the throats of the beasts. They leapt toward Jima, bloodied blades poised to bite down on her.
So close, Jima could even see the muscle lines of the Witch Spirits’ thighs wrapped in the leather stockings.
What great legs.
She thought, instinctively raising her hand.
“Snap.”
A spinning silver bow struck that perfect leg, breaking it instantly, and the silver bow emitted a gust of wind, sending the attacker flying.
The wind lifted Jima’s black hair as she opened her eyes, only to see another Witch Spirit charging toward her. A silver bow struck the Witch Spirit’s agile waist—despite her nimble dodging, one after another, four Witch Spirits were all injured by the silver bow.
Jima turned her head, and sure enough, saw Eve Frostleaf soaring low in the air. Her face was cold as ice, her long legs straight and taut, with her right hand gripping a straight arrow and her left hand retrieving a silver bow from her waist.
Jima’s heart raced.
What a great sister, so cool, so beautiful; in this life, she must share a bed with her.
Then a black-helmeted head came crashing toward Jima. She dodged and glanced back to see it was the head of the black knight.
“You seem a bit too happy too early.”
Barsa, with waist-length red hair, casually beheaded a horned beast blocking her path, landing it right before Jima. Hanging from her waist was a dream catcher gifted by the mother of all beasts, which had pulled Jima out of her dreams.
Barsa pointed her bloodied blade at Jima’s neck, saying, “I will behead your pretty head.”
Since they could communicate, then she could buy some time!
Jima cast her eyes at her, giving her a charming look, and said, “Sister, your red hair is so beautiful, and it doesn’t get caught in armor. Can you tell me how you do it?”
Barsa swung her blade toward Jima’s neck. “You’ll understand in a bit.”
In front of such a skilled opponent, unable to fly and with her power depleted from using escape skills, Jima felt as fragile as a rabbit.
She tried to retreat to dodge the attack, but no matter how she moved, she sensed she could not evade Barsa’s sword.
“Holy Slash!”
Suddenly, a burst of white light erupted behind Barsa, striking her back with a giant sword that filled the air with white brilliance, causing her armor to deform as she tumbled to the side. Quickly regaining her balance, she crouched down as a few strands of her burning red hair fell.
“Nice one, monkey,” Barsa said in the common tongue, “you almost got my neck.”
George stood in front of Jima, brandishing his giant sword overhead. Jima recognized the technique; it was called “Guardian Lady.” She quickly crouched down. The consistently swinging giant sword repelled the surrounding Witch Spirits attempting to ambush them.
“Next time, you’ll be the one who dies,” George retorted in Elvish, then asked, “Jima, are you okay?”
Jima pulled out a charred talisman—crafted by Jenna—saying, “I’m fine, no injuries. By the way, can you unleash a burst of light to momentarily blind the enemy?”
“The effect might not be great,” George responded. With an even swing of his giant sword, he suddenly released a powerful burst, striking down a close-drawing Witch Spirit with a searing, luminous blade that killed her instantly.
The explosion of light cast a shadow onto Jima’s retina, while Barsa merely squinted her glowing red eyes.
Jima rubbed her eyes and saw the scarred giant horned bull breaking through Eve Frostleaf’s entanglement, charging toward them.
A sense of foreboding crept over her from atop the slope. Looking up from the edge of the forest, Jima saw the mother of all beasts dragging her massive form to the top of the slope.
Too fast; it’s as if she has some mobile extraordinary ability. It must be, or why would I have encountered her just now? But if that’s the case, why doesn’t she just appear in the forest to intercept us?
The only good news was that the damn paralyzing poison was wearing off.
“I have a plan,” Jima said, crouching under the shadow of George’s sword, “You rush straight toward that red-haired lady, that’s her, and unleash bright light. Don’t mind me; I have my own plan.”
“Are you sure?”
Jima cradled a black ceramic jar in her hands, scribbled with the four characters “Avoid Line of Sight” in messy handwriting, her tone serious: “Certainly.”
Though George wasn’t very knowledgeable about warfare, he understood squad combat well.
Did Jima have any secret weapons left? How was she planning to fight?
George trusted Jima far more than his sword. Suddenly, he charged toward Barsa with a “Light Charge,” unleashing a blinding light that could stun a mortal.
Bathed in the glow of light wings, George unleashed a triple Holy Slash. Barsa’s purple-black runic breastplate caved in, revealing a hole from which blood flowed out.
But the scarred giant horned bull charged in, and George found himself outnumbered. He leapt back a step, swinging his sword to cut down the fallen horned beast, nervously glancing for Jima, but finding no trace of her.
“Where is she?”
She had already slipped away.
Jima dashed through the shadows, her world cloaked in a semi-transparent black veil. All the fleeing horned beasts and knights around her couldn’t see her at all.
At that moment, the shadows were Jima’s veil.
So this is what it feels like to hide in the shadows like Arkanis?
Just then, a horned beast came charging toward Jima. With a thought, she melded into the shadows, appearing atop a tree trunk. Thirty meters away, a Cain assassin was searching for her without noticing her presence.
Not only could she hide within the shadows, but she could also “shadow jump.” No wonder Arkanis could breach even the sunlit shadows cut into pieces.
Behind her, the fighting raged on, but Jima couldn’t focus on that. As long as she still had time, she needed to escape this battlefield as far as she could.
An hour and a half later.
Invisible, Jima hid under a tree, hearing shouts from the beastmen in the distance; the beastmen were searching the forest for fleeing soldiers.
However, she had made it far enough from the battlefield, having flown for a long time.
She set down her shovel, carefully burying the dirt under the fallen leaves, then crawled into a tree hollow, excavating a pit that perfectly concealed the entrance to the Dream Palace.
With the consumption of her magical power, the entrance to the Dream Palace appeared, and Jima stepped inside.
Placing her foot on the palace’s clean floor, water dripped from her hair.
To prevent the war hound from picking up her scent, she had purposely washed in the cold river beforehand; now she was thoroughly soaked.
Jima quickly changed clothes, first checking the dream realm. Finding it shrouded in gray mist, she couldn’t see the dream seeds she had previously arranged, rendering her unable to escape.
She placed her bed near the entrance to the dream realm, propping her weapon against the headboard, drank a potion to accelerate her magical regeneration, and curled up on her bed.
At that moment, she recalled George, who she had left behind, and Eve Frostleaf.
Glancing at her personal system, she still had twenty percent of her magic left, indicating she still had some strength remaining.
Forget it, time to rest. They can handle themselves.
Jima closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep.
Outside the tree hollow that concealed the entrance to the Dream Palace, night fell, with the howls of hounds echoing and the occasional screams of humans breaking the silence.
