In the basement passage, wind howled and arcs crackled.
Nightowl darted between the back of broken stones, cracks in the walls, and corner shadows. She pushed her speed to the limit. Each shadow hop barely dodged a furious lightning strike while her black blade grazed the storm spirit’s surface, dealing damage.
But the diamond-tier storm spirit was too large. It nearly filled the passage. Her blade could not reach the cyclone core. No fatal wounds.
In a war of attrition, a sleepless Nightowl was at a severe disadvantage. She could not sustain full power much longer.
The storm elemental let out a low hum. Air pressure spiked. Countless tiny sparks burst from its body, weaving a net of electricity that covered the entire passage.
Nightowl tapped her toe and melted into the wall’s shadow.
The net passed. She reappeared, ready to counter during the skill gap. Her right foot suddenly buckled. She nearly fell.
A lightning graze had paralyzed it. In her poor state, she failed to notice in time.
“Damn…” The thought flashed. Blinding thunder filled her vision.
Nightowl slammed into the stone wall. Smoke rose from her body. The air carried the scent of burned flesh.
Another arc came. She vanished again, leaving only a streak of red.
Inside the basement, Nightowl tumbled out of the shadow. She rolled twice and spat a mouthful of blood.
She blamed Ivan’s madness rubbing off on her. Why else would she do something so stupid?
She should have retreated the moment she saw diamond-tier. Dragged one wounded teammate out. At least saved two lives.
Now she had played hero and doomed herself too.
Facing death, she muttered in elvish. If Lin Jun were here, he would catch the torrent of filth. She cursed the whole team from captain to herself. Even absent Aedin got an earful.
“Nightowl, you okay?” Nova staggered over, leaning on the wall.
Only he could still move.
“Better or worse, what’s the difference? We’re… cough… dying soon anyway!” She finished after spraying blood on Nova’s face.
Nova asked, “Still got the branch?”
Nightowl fumbled in her torn inner clothes and pulled out the twig. “What? Take one with us? That’s an elemental, not a demon. Pointless.”
Nova took the Wood Core and gripped it hard. Thorns pierced his palm. Blood dripped along the branch.
Nightowl fell silent, watching in confusion.
Nova whispered, “It has another use…”
Next moment, to her horror, Nova stabbed the branch into her arm.
“Nova! What the—”
Words cut off. A surge of pure life force flooded in through the branch.
Not normal healing. Raw vitality.
Wounds and fatigue melted away. At the cost of Nova’s hair turning visibly gray.
Nightowl jolted. She slapped his hand away. Absorbing another’s life chilled her.
Nova glanced at the revived Nightowl and slid down the wall. “Gar’s too far gone. Without my healing, he dies anyway. Take Ivan…”
He offered the Wood Core. Meaning clear.
“Nova…”
Nightowl wasted no words. Took the Core. Went to Ivan. Started to shadow-dive. Stopped.
The storm elemental… why hadn’t it entered?
She hesitated. Slipped back alone to scout.
Then she saw.
The entire passage was packed with spores.
…
“Right, right, just like that. Don’t stop!”
Under Lin Jun’s command, Aedin’s Puchi puffed their caps in unison, spewing massive spore clouds.
The mana-laced particles formed a thick fog, pouring into the narrow passage.
In the confined space, wind could not scatter them. Arcs could not burn them all.
Soon, every corner except the elemental’s immediate area was choked with spore mist.
In the storm elemental’s [Mana Sense], the passage was a uniform mana blur. No targets.
[Airflow Sense] was useless in tight quarters. Its own winds bounced back, creating chaos.
Lin Jun planned it. He used the same detection methods. He knew exactly how to counter them.
Both senses crippled, the no-crystal knight Puchi strolled to eight meters before stopping.
Face-to-face ambush.
The [Mushroom Cannon] fired. The elemental barely reacted. Took a full-charge blast square.
Violent energy rocked its massive frame. Lightning sprayed.
Not fatal. It spotted the attacker and charged with thunder.
The knight Puchi met it head-on. [Blade Storm LV8] spun it into a high-speed blade top. Direct collision.
[Magic Resistance LV9]
[Regeneration LV7]
[Mycelial Reconstruction LV8]
Lightning snakes danced. Mycelium flew.
Two raging tops clashed in the most brutal, primitive way. The passage shook with each impact.
Lin Jun stayed calm in a pure brute-force slugfest.
He could read panels. Check HP drain rates. Outcome clear.
Time passed. The storm elemental weakened.
Fewer arcs. Slower spin.
The knight Puchi was battered but mana-rich. High regen kept it strong.
Then Nightowl joined.
Ignoring scratches, she breached the loosening outer storm. Black blade stabbed the core cyclone.
The diamond-tier elemental gave a final tremor. Exploded. Sent Nightowl flying.
Not too strong. She flipped mid-air to bleed off force.
As she neared the Puchi, Lin Jun’s mycelial tentacle hooked her ankle. Unaware, she lost balance and face-planted.
Aedin arrived just in time to see.
“Boss, she’s from Silver Thorns.” He feared a misunderstanding.
Lin Jun remembered Nightowl well. “I know. She chopped my Puchi before!”
Seeing her bruised, bleeding, and confused, Aedin seriously recalled how many Puchi he accidentally killed before joining… (One more chapter tonight)
(End of Chapter)
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