Chapter 364 The Unknown Woman
The woman was clad in light armor that was torn open across the chest and left arm, and blood covered nearly every visible inch of her body. Deep gashes ran across her torso, and one of her legs was also bleeding heavily.
Her hair was disheveled, and countless strands were stuck to her face from the blood, hiding her facial features.
She made it just two more steps before her legs gave out, her eyes rolling up as she fell face-first into the dirt and no longer moved. Moon did not rush to help the woman, he remained behind the boulder, his eyes searching the tree-line behind her for whatever had injured her this much might still be following.
For several long seconds, nothing moved.
Then the perpetrator stepped out of the trees.
Just like Moon expected, the reason behind her injury soon appeared.
At first glance, Moon almost mistook it for a person. It walked upright on two legs, its posture straight and composed. It wore what looked like light armor, as white as snow and fitted close to its body, and it carried a thin blade in one hand that was still wet with blood. But it wasn't human.
A diamond-shaped white symbol sat in the center of its forehead, glowing faintly against its pale skin. There was no warmth in its expression, or any kind of emotion to state. It scanned the clearing the way a predator scans a field, already knowing its prey was close.
'A spirit from the pavilion.' Moon's expression darkened.
He had expected to encounter them eventually. He was planning to take over the Spirit Pavilion in the upcoming few weeks after all, but to encounter them this early on…before he could even lay down his foundation was certainly not good.
Joseph had said the spirits stayed within the pavilion's territory. If this one had wandered out this far, it meant the boundary was expanding. The pavilion's influence was creeping outward across the island. The spirit's eyes found the woman on the ground. It tilted its head slightly, the movement almost curious, then began walking toward her slowly.
There was no rush in its stride. It knew she wasn't going anywhere. Moon watched from behind the boulder. He had a few seconds to decide whether to approach, and help the woman…or to flee.
The woman's breathing was getting weaker. The gurgling in her lungs was louder now.
The spirit raised its blade and struck down.
The thin edge connected with the woman's flesh and her body disintegrated instantly. One moment she was lying in the dirt bleeding out, the next she was gone, reduced to nothing in the space between heartbeats.
She respawned a moment later, a few meters from where she had fallen. Her eyes snapped open wide, the disorientation of death and resurrection hitting her all at once. She staggered to her feet, blood still fresh on her torn armor even though the wounds beneath had reset.
Her gaze found the spirit immediately.
"I will kill you!" she shouted, her expression venomous. But her chances were close to none. She hadn't been able to defeat the spirit at full strength. Now, with the death debuff weighing down her body, she was even weaker than before.
Moon watched from behind the boulder.
He didn't intervene, the fight promised to be informative, and although Moon had no issue killing spirits, especially given the massive spiritual energy they carried, he wasn't foolish enough to jump in blind. He knew nothing about the spirit's full capabilities. He also knew nothing about the woman, throwing himself into a fight between two unknowns for the sake of a stranger wasn't brave or heroic, It was at best…stupid.
He valued his life more than that.
07:23
'Let's see what her class is like.'
Moon activated Eye of Truth on the woman.
[Class: Iron Maiden] [Order: Second] [Skills: Iron Strength (Rare), Reckoning Burst (Rare)]
Moon's eyebrows rose.
Based on the description, Iron Maiden appeared to be a defensive class built around physical power. Iron Strength would give her high physical strength. As for the second skill [Reckoning Burst], Moon wasn't sure about its effect, but it sounded powerful to say the least.
She was by no means a weakling. In fact, for most encounters in the Second Sanctuary, she would be considered a formidable opponent.
Which made the state Moon had found her in all the more alarming.
To be beaten to that point, hunted down and killed despite having two Rare skills and a class designed to endure punishment, meant that the spirit standing calmly in the clearing wasn't simple at all.
Moon's gaze shifted back to the spirit. The diamond on its forehead glowing faintly.
'Just how strong are you?'
The woman summoned a long staff from her storage ring and charged at the spirit without hesitation. Her grip was tight, her stance low, and every ounce of emotion she carried was channeled into the sprint.
She closed the gap in a mere second and swung her long staff.
The staff came down in a heavy overhead arc aimed at the spirit's skull. The spirit raised its dagger with a single hand and deflected the blow to the side. The impact rang out across the clearing, metal against something harder than metal, and the woman's arms shook from the rebound.
Despite the failure, she didn't stop. She followed up with a lateral sweep aimed at the spirit's ribs. The spirit stepped back just enough to let the staff pass in front of its chest, then stepped forward again and flicked the dagger toward her shoulder.
The woman twisted and caught the blade on the shaft of her staff. Sparks flew, but she pushed forward, trying to use her size and reach advantage to pin the spirit at close range.
The spirit gave ground. One step, then two. Every dodge was minimal and precise.
The woman swung again. A thrust this time, driving the end of her staff toward the spirit's throat. The spirit tilted its head to the side and the staff slid past its ear. Whoosh!
The dagger flew towards the woman's neck at an alarming speed.
The woman's eyes shrank, as she ducked down, barely managing to dodge the dagger attack.
But before she could adjust her position, a knee came flying towards her face—
Unable to use the staff to protect herself. She could only summon drop it and cross her arms to protect herself from the incoming damage.
The knee sent her several meters back, but she managed to remain standing. Moon watched from behind the boulder, his eyes narrowing. The woman was losing the fight, and without her staff in her hands, the fight would only get harder from here.