Chapter 13: Crisis

  A loud laugh rang out from the dual axes bandit.

  “Your subordinate is amazing, isn’t he? Truly loyal, but perhaps a little too optimistic. Does he really think he can get away?” the dual axes bandit grinned menacingly.

  Nitaan’s body darted away from the group, fading into a blur. Nitaan moved as if weightless, with just a light touch of his leg, his body soared far with speed almost equal to the dual axes bandit.

  Nitaan broke through the encirclement from the Earthquake Tiger’s side. When the Earthquake Tiger saw Nitaan running towards him, it leaped towards him, hoping to kill him, but its leg momentarily got stuck in the ground, causing it to stumble and fall.

  Nitaan seized the opportunity, leaped up into a tree, and vanished into the forest, leaving no trace.

  The bandit archers fired arrows after him, but every arrow fell to the ground, failing to travel as far as they intended. The archer bandit drew his bow again before running after them.

  “Don’t chase after him. His speed is no joke. If we go after him, we’ll lose bigger prey. Our main target is that wealthy young master,” the dual axes bandit warned the archer bandit.

  “Lucky bastard. Tiran probably doesn’t need him today,” the giant axe bandit sneered.

  “Nitaan! Are you really going to abandon us like this?” Ratri’s voice trembled, her eyes filled with dread.

  “I thought we were friends!” Arun shouted angrily.

  “If you could escape yourselves, you would do it too,” Nitaan’s cold and emotionless voice rang out from the forest.

  “Damn it, Nitaan!” Arun yelled in frustration but could do nothing, only continuing to create a massive invisible wall to protect against the rain of arrows.

  Although Nitaan’s departure meant Injan’s side lost a combatant, the reality was that their strength remained the same. In the previous situation, Nitaan didn’t offer any assistance.

  Nitaan was an expert in detection and scouting. But in this situation, surrounded by enemies, Nitaan’s abilities could not be of any great benefit.

  Sadly, every support, no matter how insignificant, was what Injan needed.

  Should I use the Annihilation Candle now? No. Even if I manage to kill the Earthquake Tiger, that archer bandit would still be there. If he had another devil beast that was able to lure the roots away while he continued to attack from afar, we would remain stuck in defense.

  I had to deal with one of the bandits. Aiming at the Earthquake Tiger wasn't the answer. Injan pondered, his gaze fixed on the bandit, trying his best to control Azure Leaf Tree to block the Earthquake Tiger.

  The battle continued for several more minutes. The Earthquake Tiger was now less than a hundred meters away from their group. The hundreds of arrows fired showed no sign of decreasing. Prai and Arun are nearing their limits.

  While the situation on the battlefield may not have changed much, the disadvantage lies with Injan's group. Their power is dwindling with every passing moment, and the Earthquake Tiger is closing in.

  The tiger's bloodthirsty brown eyes that get closer and closer make the whole group increasingly anxious, even for Injan, who carries numerous Enchanted artifacts.

  The obstacles from the roots and forests are diminishing, but the Earthquake Tiger continues its fierce attack, as if its power is boundless. Injan suspects it's been amplified by a bandit archer.

  So that archer is a Beast trainer.

  Despite the growing anxiety, Injan's eyes remain sharp, searching for an opportunity to turn the tide. The four adventurers, though pale, maintain their composure. They know they can't escape like Nitaan did. They can only hope for Injan and Elder Grai.

  And then, that opportunity arrives. Elder Grai suddenly hurled the dual axes bandit with great force towards Injan.

  The dual axes bandit was surprised. Previously, Elder Grai had only ever prevented them from reaching Injan. But now, he had hurled him directly towards Injan.

  “Young Master!” Elder Grai called out, giving a signal. Injan heard this and turned to meet Elder Grai's gaze, then reached into his shirt pocket.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  The dual axes bandit’s eyes narrowed at what Injan pulled out. A pitch-black candle emitting an aura of malevolence.

  The candle was completely black, with cracks spreading across it, shrouded in darkness like a starless night sky. Even the wick was black. Incomplete, missing characters were engraved on the handle, illegible in some parts, but the aura surrounding them filled him with dread.

  He didn’t know what it was, but he sensed a grave danger emanating from the black candle! The more Injan poured his spiritual energy into the candle until it ignited, the more he felt the aura of death!

  “Second Brother! That candle is dangerous!” the giant axe bandit shouted.

  Though panicked, he still lunged at Elder Grai, preventing him from joining the attack and making the situation worse.

  The dual axes bandit grabbed a root of the indigo tree, hoping to propel himself to dodge. When he looked at the candle again, it was now emitting a massive cloud of pitch-black smoke that covered the sky and earth. The black smoke dissolved everything it touched, and an annihilation radiation spread.

  Injan channeled spiritual energy from every part of his body into the candle, pointing its tip towards the approaching dual axes bandit. The black smoke coalesced into a giant, venomous serpent, its mouth wide open. Everything that slithered past met with annihilation.

  The roots he grasped instantly turned like rubber, pushing his body out of the giant serpent's path. But the black serpent moved as if alive, suddenly turning its head and slithering after the dual axes bandit at lightning speed.

  In a life-or-death moment, the dual axes bandit swung the roots in his hand at the nearby Earthquake Tiger.

  The roots lashed like whips at the unsuspecting Earthquake tiger. Upon contact, the tiger's powerful muscles contracted and then acted like a spring. Propelling it to block the black with its body. Become a meat shield for him.

  The black serpent devoured the earthquake tiger whole. With its prey secured, it coiled itself into a large, spherical mass, ceasing movement and trapping the tiger within.

  An agonizing roar erupted from within the black serpent's body. After a mere breath, the howling ceased, and the black serpent began to dissolve, transforming into a faint black smoke that floated into the sky.

  The Earthquake Tiger's body, trapped inside, was revealed after the thick black smoke dissipated.

  The Earthquake Tiger's body was now rotting, black blood gushing out in a horrifying way. It lay motionless on the ground, its flesh covered in black blisters that ruptured, releasing a copious amount of fluid.

  Earthquake Tiger, a First word Engraver devil beast, was now nothing more than a filthy, black pool of liquid.

  The dual axes bandit was sweating profusely at the sight. A devil beast many times stronger than a human had met its end in a single attack. If it had been him who was devoured by that Black Serpent, he would have had no chance of survival.

  He had just narrowly escaped death!

  "Second Brother! My Earthquake Tiger!" the Archer Bandit shouted angrily.

  "Shut up, Third Brother! I will help you capture a new devil beast later," the dual axes bandit retorted, still trembling at the thought of the Earthquake Tiger's fate.

  “Your trick is pretty good, you wretched brat. An artifact of that level, even an Enlightened might be in serious trouble. It must be a high-level Engraved artifact!” The dual axes bandit glared with malice.

  Injan’s face was truly pale at this moment. He only had one Annihilation Candle. Such a treasure wasn’t something one could simply acquire. His father had given it to him to protect him from life-threatening situations.

  His father had obtained the candle from a friend who was a Craftsmith. His father said this friend was an Enlightened, and besides his high Enlightened status, he was also one of the top Craftsmith in the capital.

  His father explained that his friend had crafted the candle from the remains of a high-level Engraver devil beast from the volcanic region—a lava-scaled crocodile. After all the other parts were used, his friend melted the remaining remains into a candle and Engraved it with the Word of Power ‘Corrosion’ obtained from a Third word Engraver devil beast.

  Even though Third word Engraver devil beast was an Enlightened, the material used to create it was too low-grade to fully withstand its power. The acquired Word of Power was incomplete, making it become a one-time use Second word Engraved artifact.

  Even incomplete and for one-time use, it was enough to kill anything lower than an Enlightened. Even an Enlightened, if struck directly, would suffer severe injury.

  His father gave it to him as a secret weapon for self-defense in times of crisis. Now, this secret weapon was gone. Even killing the Earthquake Tiger wouldn't change the situation.

  "You killed my Earthquake Tiger! You wretched brat!" The archer bandit was truly enraged. He and his two brothers had captured this Earthquake Tiger with great difficulty. Killing it might not have been too difficult, but capturing it alive and training it with his Word of Power were worlds apart in difficulty.

  A torrent of arrows rained down on Injan. Arun gritted his teeth and defended with all his might. Even Elder Grai was worried now.

  Elder Grai knew that his young master had no more suitable artifacts to use against the bandits. Sooner or later, his young master would inevitably be defeated. His heart burned with rage. But he couldn't do anything. The two bandits surrounded him, circling tightly, giving him no chance to break free.

  Even with numerous roots and invisible walls sprouting up, the rain of arrows was overwhelming. After withstanding another barrage of arrows, Arun coughed up blood violently.

  Seeing Arun cough up blood, Injan's face immediately darkened. His worst fears had come true. Arun's spiritual energy was completely depleted. They had fought for so long since the battle with the Purple Cloud Scorpion.

  Arun had also played the most arduous role. Creating invisible wall after wall to defend against the arrows had consumed an immense amount of his spiritual energy. He had long pushed himself beyond his limits, only continuing to use his abilities with sheer madness and determination.

  But now, he was truly exhausted.

  Elder Grai was almost driven mad with worry. He unleashed his full power, creating a vast, hellish domain of flames. He frantically swept his hands, hoping to deflect these two troublesome individuals, but the two bandits seemed to be waiting for it. Defending and attacking alternately, Elder Grai couldn't truly drive away the two bandits who were entangled with him. They continued to hinder him.

  Earlier, when Elder Grai tried to break through, he was struck by a giant axe. Although he managed to defend himself in time, Elder Grai was already injured.

  While the attack of a First word Engraver was still inferior to that of a Second word Engraver, a direct hit was still a hit. After all, Elder Grai was just a human, he doesn’t have hide and fur to block like a devil beast.

  The two bandits watched Elder Grai like wolves eyeing their prey. They could only buy time, unable to harm him. But if Elder Grai dared to break through, disregarding his own safety, they wouldn't hesitate to inflict a major wound on the old man.

  The archer bandit drew his bow again. Elder Grai could only watch the archer raise his bow once more with bloodshot eyes. At this moment, he cursed his own powerlessness, unable to intervene.

  "Old man, your young master is about to die! Didn't you say yourself that we were unworthy of touching your young master?" The giant axe bandit sneered, swinging his giant axe, forcing Elder Grai to defend himself once more.

  As the giant axe bandit was sent flying, the dual axes bandit swiftly passed Elder Grai, aiming to finish Injan off. Elder Grai was forced to use his fire to push the dual axes bandit back again, unable to escape.

  "Oooh, it's almost too late!" the dual axes bandit laughed mockingly.

  Injan's group was now pale. They knew they could no longer withstand the rain of arrows. Many of the tree roots were damaged beyond repair. Arun was too exhausted to create another invisible wall. None of Injan's remaining possessions could protect him.

  The glowing arrows in the bandit's hands were like Tiran's smile, intent on harvesting their lives.

  "Let’s see if you have any other tricks up your sleeve!" the bandit archer roared, gathering his strength to unleash another barrage of arrows.

  "Injan may not, but I do," a quiet voice whispered in the archer's ear.

  Thud!

  A dagger pierced his heart from behind.