The Flower Is Finished

The wind blew fiercely.

The sounds of crickets and other animals intertwined with one another. Leaves brushed against each other, and the sound of flowing water felt hauntingly quiet in the middle of the silent night.

We had no other choice except leaving behind the middle-aged man who wanted to use his body to manipulate the witches.

After leaving him there, we hurried away in a rush.

We walked with very little light and tried not to make any sound at all.

Sure enough, when we were only a few hundred meters away from him, the sounds of horses became much clearer, and from here it seemed they had already found the middle-aged man because the light from the fire convinced me that it had truly happened.

I could hear them laughing happily, but not long after, silence fell and several trees shook, signaling that they had realized they had been deceived by us.

Previously, we had already erased our tracks, and we also buried our footprints whenever we stepped forward.

I fell silent and looked at what was in front of me.

Michelle stood frozen as if she was lost, and right now she had no other choice.

"Why did we stop?" I asked curiously while approaching her, and Michelle immediately turned toward me.

"I'm sorry, but it seems we got lost and took the wrong path." I frowned in confusion seeing Michelle looking panicked.

"Is there another way?" I asked, and she fell silent.

"Michelle… close your eyes and feel where the spring water flows."

After that, Michelle closed her eyes, and I only stared at her as if she was searching for which way we should go.

"This is a trap," she said, and instantly I turned toward her. How could she know this was a trap? From what I saw, these trees looked the same as the others, nothing was different, but indeed the aura here felt darker and stranger. There were no sounds of animals or leaves rustling against each other.

"We have to get out of here and follow the water current," Michelle said, and I looked toward the rushing stream.

"Are you sure we're going to use rafts to get there?" I asked, and she nodded without hesitation.

"We don't have any other choice, so let's make temporary rafts as an alternative."

After that, we quickly gathered several pieces of wood to make rafts because there was no way we could chop down trees at a time like this. If we made too much noise, they might hear us.

"How much longer until we reach the border?" I asked because I was worried about their condition. They were badly injured, and many of them were already elderly, making their strength and steps grow weaker and slower.

I didn't want to take more risks than before.

"We'll arrive there by dawn, so we have to leave this place quickly," Michelle said, and after that I nodded because right now we were making temporary rafts.

"For now, we'll make rafts from the wood around us, and as much as possible don't make too much noise so they won't discover us!" the elder said. After that, we hurriedly searched for fallen trees or strong branches that could be used.

After about thirty minutes, we finally finished making several rafts. After that, I immediately helped the elderly villagers climb onto them one by one.

"Come on, get on!" Michelle said while looking at me and reaching out her hand because several rafts had already started moving, and it seemed we lacked enough space to carry me too.

"I don't think I need to get on," I said while staring at the raft and shaking my head.

"There's still room, hurry and get on."

"Yes, get on." The elder also told me to climb aboard, but I still shook my head. If I got on, the raft probably wouldn't be able to support all of us.

"You all go ahead, I'll find another way out!" I said, and slowly I began pushing the raft farther away from me.

Michelle shouted at me, "Xander… hurry and get on."

She tried holding the raft back with her paddle, but I shook my head and told her to leave me behind because I truly couldn't ride the raft.

"You all go! I'll catch up with you later!"

Just as I said that, suddenly an arrow almost hit me, and I immediately blocked it with my sword so the arrow wouldn't wound me.

Sure enough, across the river there were several people staring at me, and it seemed they were preparing to shoot arrows several times, but I immediately grabbed small stones and threw them toward the arrows that were aimed at Michelle and the others.

Brak

Brak

Brak

Brak

Brak

The arrows missed Michelle, and several witches immediately surrounded me.

I raised my sword and stared at them one by one.

"Damn… they escaped the trap," one of them said while glaring at me.

"Do you want to die by my hands?" he asked with a faint sneer.

"You're the one who will die by my hands!"

After that, the witches began using their magic and moved the trees at the same time to attack me.

Several others also attacked me with arrows from a distance, and this time I was overwhelmed facing attacks from every direction. But because my patience had already worn thin, I used my ancient fire to burn them faster. Otherwise, more enemies would soon arrive, and it would become easier for them to capture us again considering how strong the river current was, though I was sure they could still chase Michelle later.

One by one they attacked me, and I also used my ancient fire. One by one they were burned by my flames, causing more witches and demons to arrive.

As I was trying to block attacks from the front, suddenly from behind an arrow struck me, causing me to freeze. Luckily, the arrow didn't pierce too deeply into my body, so I only stayed silent and endured the pain mixed with a burning sting.

Bless

Akh

Bless

Bless

Akh.

One by one arrows pierced me from every direction.

My body felt hotter and hotter, and I could already feel my ancient fire about to explode.

One by one they approached and swung their magic staffs. I felt this was their chance to destroy me, but I wasn't afraid at all. Even this pain didn't trouble me much.

As I closed my eyes, suddenly someone from deep inside the forest moved very quietly, and it seemed they hadn't noticed it either.

Sret

Sret

Sret

Sret

They seemed to be struck by arrows from someone, and I immediately turned toward the figure inside the forest.

A few seconds later, they realized someone was attacking from the forest, and they immediately turned around.

One by one they realized they had been hit by arrows, and they shouted loudly.

"Someone shot us!"

"Prepare to fight again!" one of them shouted, and they immediately raised their bows and fired toward the forest.

I, who was still pierced by arrows, tried to remove them using my ancient fire.

When I was finally ready to pull out the arrows embedded in my body, I clearly saw that it was Arfan.

"Aaaaaaaaa……."

When I screamed loudly, suddenly my ancient fire truly blasted several of them away, and they seemed to realize that there was a power far greater than arrows—my ancient fire.

"Aaaaaa… hot…..aaaaaaaaa."

They screamed in pain as my ancient fire devoured their bodies one by one, and at that moment they truly vanished, leaving behind only ashes. Several witches and demons immediately retreated from before me.

They retreated in terror.

My breathing was still ragged, and through my blurred vision I was certain that it was Arvan.

"Xanders, you're badly injured!"

My vision became blurry, and I watched Arvan run toward me.

I vaguely heard Arvan calling my name, but for some reason I suddenly felt overwhelmingly sleepy. This time I even faintly felt Arvan catching me before I collapsed to the ground. My head really hurt.

"You're injured."

Even so, I could still hear him, and I shook my head at him.

"You came too quickly, Arvan," I said in a stammering voice, and he shook his head.

"You're badly hurt, idiot!"

I smiled faintly, and at that moment my eyes slowly closed.