Chapter 329: An Unexpected Battle (1)
Chapter 329: An Unexpected Battle (1)
The battle started without so much as a warning. Xiao Lin originally wanted to try and negotiate with them, but little did he expect that the other party would show no such intention at all. Instead, they immediately launched an attack when they saw that Xiao Lin’s group had only three people.
Lilith probably anticipated that situation and had a sneer of disdain. She turned her wrist slightly and conjured up the jet-black war scythe at once.
The scene instantly became chaotic. Xiao Lin was briefly caught off guard by the opponent’s sneak attack, but he did not hesitate either. After realizing that the opponent was going to kill his side, he immediately activated the Miracle state. A burst of sword aura then immediately slashed in half one of the individuals who was nearer to him and had rushed up abruptly. Blood splattered everywhere, with various organs and tissues falling from the sky. The power of the Lightsword was really powerful when used in tandem with the Miracle state.
There were about a dozen people in the other group. They originally thought that Xiao Lin’s side were weaklings, mainly because two of the people were delicate girls, and wanted to quickly get rid of all three. Xiao Lin’s sudden attack startled them, but all of them were felons that seemed to be quite experienced.
They hesitated for less than half a second before a couple of people immediately dashed past Xiao Lin and headed straight for Lilith. Meanwhile, the rest of them were restraining Xiao Lin from the front, and Xiao Lin shot a sympathetic look to the people moving past.
Sure enough, it took less than ten seconds when those people screamed and fell down. The flames on their bodies continued to burn and as they stuck to their skin and burned violently. One person, who seemed to be half-alive, grimaced at the burning pain and let out a chilling cry that resounded in the dark and empty valley.
They expected to find some pushovers, but it was evident that they had miscalculated. Being well-trained individuals, another four people immediately split from the group and went straight to the left. Their target was Ibeiya, and after their initial miscalculation with Lilith, the few of them attacked with all their might, and Xiao Lin even discovered that some of them were still wielding sword aura.
“Crap!”
Xiao Lin exclaimed. The heat of the fight caused him to nearly forget that the little girl was different from Lilith. All she had was a vampire’s strong physique, but in truth, she did not even have the power to tie up a chicken.
He did not hesitate to shift all his attributes into agility and use the Phantom Steps at its highest. He turned around intending to help, but soon felt a slight pain from behind him. When he looked over, he found that someone had shot him using a short bow from close distance.
Xiao Lin could not help but feel a little bit displeased in his desperation, as the limitations of the Phantom Step were constantly increasing. The Phantom Step was definitely not a foolproof skill, but it was time-tested among the freshmen due to its nature as a Black-Iron level skill. Most freshmen who did not even reach Black Iron-level would find it difficult to catch up to it unless they were the small minority who possessed exceptional talent.
In the face of Black Iron-rank opponents however, the role of Phantom Step was reduced tremendously. The problem was not very prominent during the third monthly exam because the orcs they faced were not known for their speed and skill. However, the limitations of the Phantom Step were finally laid bare once again.
The strength of that group was not very strong, and Xiao Lin had an absolute advantage in the Miracle state during brief weapon clashes. However, his defensive ability was very low when facing a longer-range attack.
It hurt!
Xiao Lin gritted his teeth. He originally thought that he would not need to fight since he had powerful companions within the investigation team assigned for the journey. As a result, he only brought the essential weapons and did not wear any armor. After all, it was very uncomfortable to wear heavy armor constantly. Luckily for him however, the arrow did not hit a vital point and merely struck him below the shoulder. Xiao Lin reached back and pulled it out, causing blood to begin spurting immediately. It did not concern him that much though, as his body possessed a dragon’s healing ability.
Ibeiya instinctively started running in the opposite direction as soon as battle began. She knew that she was incapable of combat and would only be a burden to Lilith and Xiao Lin if she was captured. Unfortunately, Ibeiya’s claims of having no strength turned out not to be a ruse for Xiao Lin and Lilith. She had already been caught after running only a short distance away.
Xiao Lin’s pace was greatly slowed down because he was obstructed by a couple of individuals wielding short bows. Annoyed, he directly sliced the air with flame sword aura. While he was at that, he produced flame bombs to block several nearby people who were ready to come over. Then, he pulled away a little and rushed over to Ibeiya.
The man who seized Ibeiya grinned and held a long knife to the girl’s neck. His actions stopped there and he shot a provoking look at the oncoming Xiao Lin. After becoming aware that Xiao Lin and Lilith’s combat strength was beyond their imagination, they swiftly decided to threaten them by taking Ibeiya—the weakest of them all—as hostage.
The man mumbled something, but his accent was too heavy and Xiao Lin could not understand what those words meant. The situation put him in a tight spot. He had known Ibeiya for just a few days and she was a very mysterious girl, even to the extent that he and Lilith were secretly wary of her throughout the entire time.
In any case, Xiao Lin could no longer bear to act any slower when he saw the adorable girl’s trembling pupils and tear-stained delicate face. He shouted in some terrible Normese, “Let her go! You want a fight? I’ll fight! Why involve a child!”
The man said something in reply and then stretched out his dirty hand to forcefully stroke Ibeiya’s face. He then put on a goading expression for Xiao Lin.
Xiao Lin saw red and Lilith was occupied with the others. Although the battle situation was extremely favorable for Lilith, the other party had considerable experience. When they realized that it was pointless to fight the crazy woman from the front, they deliberately distanced themselves and nimbly avoided her scythe’s attack range.
Ibeiya originally had a horrified look, but as soon as the man touched her face humiliatingly, a ruthless look suddenly appeared in her eyes and she moved her head forward to the blade, causing it to cut through her neck. Although the man was shocked and quickly retracted the knife, it was already too little too late.
A torrent of blood gushes out, dyeing Ibeiya’s white dress red. She used so much force that the sharp blade nearly cut off her entire head. Her kind fell down like a kite on a snapped string. She no longer moved, and the expression on her face remained frozen on her final smile.
“IBEIYA!”
Xiao Lin was utterly enraged. Whatever the circumstances might be, Xiao Lin could never accept the fact that such a cute and lovely girl had died before his eyes. The man opposite was still stunned and stared blankly at the dripping blood on his hands. He probably did not believe that the girl actually had such courage.
“I’LL KILL YOU!”
Xiao Lin felt something blooming in his body. The next moment, his entire body rushed towards the man like a meteor.