Chapter 113 Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Chapter 113 Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
The group reacted instantly. Alessandra leapt into the driver’s seat, steadying Rhogan as her sharp eyes scanned their surroundings.
Agnes flipped her hands, summoning Aqua. A vortex of water spiraled into existence, the familiar feminine form of the spirit taking shape at her command.
Reika raised a glowing barrier around the carriage, while Yumi climbed halfway out through the roof hatch, bow drawn. “Multiple enemies—they’re getting closer! I can hear them!”
Iryoku vaulted onto the rooftop, scanning the treeline. From the forest shadows came low growls and guttural grunts—something was tailing them. “Are those the remaining warriors?” he muttered. “How did they shake off the griffon so fast?” His fists clenched. Part of him itched to leap into battle, but another part feared leaving the girls exposed.
Suddenly, a blast of magic struck the path ahead. Rhogan skidded to a halt, the carriage lurching dangerously from the sudden stop. Alessandra braced, gripping the armored wheel with both hands, muscles straining as she forced the vehicle steady.
“Go!” Iryoku barked.
Rhogan’s horn flared green, power radiating as the beast charged again, bulldozing through trees and tearing over low ridges, the carriage rattling behind.
Reika unleashed a storm of lightning where they had just been a heartbeat before, slowing their pursuers. Yumi fired a flurry of glowing arrows into the shadows, her voice tight. “Where are they?” Metal clanged in reply, echoing from the unseen hunters.
Then Iryoku saw it—a massive wolf, gray-furred with a horn glowing bright blue. Upon its back rode an old, bald warrior, skin tanned and scarred, clad in heavy armor with gauntlets like iron anvils. Broad-shouldered and radiating raw strength, the man locked eyes with Iryoku.
Already charging his attack, Iryoku roared:
“Infinity Edge!”
The harpoon streaked through the air, black energy crackling along its tip, a glowing white rope trailing behind like lightning chained to steel.
The rider only smiled, spurring his mount forward. The wolf’s horn blazed as it met the weapon head-on with a deep, guttural growl. The clash detonated into a shockwave that shook the forest, scattering leaves and dirt in every direction.
Iryoku reeled the harpoon back, jaw tight. His eyes narrowed.
“What the hell…? Is he one of the Death Tree elites?”
From the hatch, Yumi loosed another arrow. “No… he’s the leader of the bandits.”
Iryoku snapped his head toward her, surprise flashing across his face.
“They’re the same gang that chased us before,” Yumi continued, firing again. “The one that Leon guy was with. They were the second faction after us—apart from the Death Tree warriors. Back when we got separated, after the mammoth attack near the capital—we fought them off.”
The bald rider dug his heels into the wolf’s flank. The beast howled and lunged forward, its speed blurring. “Just give up, kids! Nothing bad’s gonna happen,” the man roared, his eerie grin twisting his scarred face.
Reika peeked out from the carriage, lightning sparking on her fingertips and black rings. “Did they… tame the wolves?” She remembered them as wild, third-party enemies during their last encounter.
BOOM!
Alessandra’s cannon thundered, the shot shaking the air. She charged it again, the barrel glowing red-hot. “Do they not get tired?” she growled, anger flashing in her eyes.
Iryoku’s rage flared as he pictured the girls alone in the forest, hounded by three factions at once. His teeth clenched. Then he steadied himself—they had to stay focused. “Then he must be the boss that shit-face Leon talked about back then.”
More wolf riders emerged from the treeline, their mounts smaller than the massive horned wolf but no less vicious.
Aqua shifted atop the carriage, her feminine form bristling as her liquid arms stretched into snapping tentacles. Jets of water shot out, halting more of the pursuers.
Agnes focused, her voice sharp as she guided both Rhogan and Aqua in tandem, her awareness threading through Aqua’s vision.
“This group’s a major gang from the kingdom’s underground,” she inferred, recalling whispers she’d caught during her brief time as regent.
Behind them, the bald rider suddenly rose on his wolf’s back, fists blazing with savage energy. With a roar, he swung—hurling a colossal strike of raw force toward them.
It never landed.
CRACK!
Yumi’s magic arrow pierced the blow midair, followed instantly by Reika’s lightning bolt. Their combined blast shattered the attack, sparks raining down in a storm of crackling energy.
Agnes seized the opening. Drawing deeply on her power, she commanded Aqua’s arms to surge outward, swelling into a towering wall of water. The torrent twisted into a massive vortex, forcing the wolf riders back and breaking their charge.
“Nice job, Agnes,” Iryoku called, flashing her a quick smile.
The group pressed forward—until the trees broke. They froze.
“Shit,” Iryoku muttered. The path ended at a cliff. Beyond it, a canyon yawned wide and endless. Even his longest leap couldn’t bridge the gap.
“Agnes!” he barked.
She reacted instantly, yanking Rhogan into a sharp turn along the cliff’s edge. The canyon yawned beside them like a bottomless maw, the crimson sun dipping low across its far horizon.
And then—an obstacle.
A speck appeared on the road ahead. As the trees thinned into open ground, the speck resolved into a lone figure standing squarely in their path. A dark cloak whipped in the wind. Black hat. Black trousers. Beneath the folds, a white armored shirt caught the fading light.
His tanned, handsome face was half-shielded by a mask, golden catlike eyes gleaming—one partly veiled by pale bangs, a thin scar trailing from mask to eye. At his hip hung a slender fencing sword.
The carriage thundered closer.
“What the hell is that guy doing way out here?” Iryoku spat, eyes narrowing.
The figure didn’t move. Fearless. Unyielding.
Recognition struck.
It was Mr. K—Babel’s prestigious nobleman. His attire was less lavish now, but nobility still radiated from his stance.
Alessandra tugged hard on the reins, urging Rhogan to swerve and bolt past. But with uncanny precision, the man shifted—every motion effortless—cutting off every possible angle of escape.
“Fuck,” Iryoku cursed, then shouted, “Move the hell out of the way, dumbass! We don’t have anything against you!”
But Mr. K stood firm. Menacing. Unmoving.
“Tch… Just run him over, Rhogan!” Iryoku barked. “The bandits will catch us any second!”
Rhogan roared and charged, his horn blazing with green magic.
As they closed the distance, the man moved—lightning fast. Iryoku’s eyes widened. The glowing rapier snapped into a defensive stance: eerily familiar, impossibly precise, with no wasted motion.
CRASH!
A shockwave of light erupted. Rhogan and the carriage were blasted backward, the rhino’s rocky hide cracking under the impact. The carriage flipped violently before crashing onto its side. Rhogan groaned in pain as the group hurled themselves clear, rolling across the dirt.
Snarling, Iryoku sprang forward, daggers flashing, aiming straight for Mr. K.
The man did not flinch. His glowing blade angled perfectly, catching Iryoku’s thrust with minimal movement. Iryoku feinted, slashing down with his second dagger—yet the result was the same.
A deep chill tore through Iryoku’s body. He couldn’t react in time.
A blinding flash detonated on impact. A barrier-like force erupted from the rapier, hurling Iryoku backward. His body convulsed under the crushing pressure, arms trembling violently. One went numb; the other slick with blood. “Shit…” he growled, realizing he’d been struck.
The girls gasped, eyes wide, nearly in tears. They couldn’t believe it—someone faster, sharper, more precise than Iryoku.
“Just who the hell are you?!” Iryoku snarled, skidding across the dirt, daggers still clenched in his hands.
“Quick, Aqua—heal him!” Agnes cried, water coiling around his wounds. Her voice cracked with worry.
Reika shouted desperately, lightning sparking on her black rings. “Why are you in our way? We’ve done nothing to you! Is this about the money? Iryoku won it fair and square!”
Yumi had already drawn her bow, arrow steady and aimed at the man. Beside her, Alessandra raised her shield and mace, ready to charge. Anger burned on both their faces.
But Mr. K did not advance. He stood rooted, rapier glowing, stance flawless—offering not a single opening.
Iryoku gritted his teeth. The chasers were closing in. He had no choice. Charging his harpoon, its tip flared with dense black energy. He hurled it straight at Mr. K, then instantly followed with a barrage of throwing knives, scattered wide.
At the same time, Yumi fired a magical arrow at the man’s feet, and Reika unleashed a crackling arc of lightning toward his face. Alessandra readied her cannon, barrel glowing hot, while Agnes commanded Aqua to unleash a pressurized water jet from the side.
The attacks rained down in rapid succession. Iryoku was already moving, dashing diagonally to close the gap. His harpoon’s white-glowing rope twisted unnaturally mid-flight, bending at jagged angles before redirecting to strike at Mr. K’s exposed back.
For a split second, victory seemed certain—
But the glow flared again.
Time slowed in Iryoku’s eyes. Mr. K moved with immeasurable speed, his rapier intercepting every attack with surgical precision. Each strike was repelled in a burst of light and force—the lightning fizzled out, the water jet split apart, the arrow shattered mid-flight, and even the cannon blast dispersed into nothing.
Then, in one seamless motion, he pivoted—rapier flashing upward to guard his back. Steel clashed against the harpoon’s tip—deflected instantly. With a flick of his wrist, he counter-thrust, hurling the weapon away. It spiraled into the ground and buried itself deep, releasing a surge of raw magic.
CRASH!
A shockwave of light tore outward, the earth erupting where the harpoon struck.
Iryoku halted mid-charge, daggers trembling in his grip. The girls froze as well, their bodies shaking at the overwhelming display of power and skill.
For a heartbeat, the battlefield fell silent.