Cruel Retreat

The Mage Armor, filled with circulating magic power, slowly revolved around Punk. The night was illuminated by Kane's Light Battle Qi, creating a small area bathed in radiance. Just as this eternal silence seemed poised to continue indefinitely...

"Ding!!"

From the distant darkness, a slender, sharp dagger flew out. The tip, stained black with shadow energy, fiercely struck Punk's Mage Armor, emitting a crisp, ringing sound! The mysterious runes flowing on the Mage Armor flickered faintly. This attack was easily deflected by the energy shield, causing no damage.

Punk's focus sharpened. With a low and indistinct incantation that vanished in an instant, Punk's spell—Lesser Shockwave Cut—was successfully cast in less than a second. Dozens of high-frequency vibrating, piercingly noisy, pale white Aether Energy blades materialized outside the Mage Armor. At Punk's command, all the energy blades shot towards a single direction in the deep darkness. The dense blades cut the ground within a forty-five-degree arc in their path to pieces. The energy blades embedded in the ground vibrated at high frequencies, instantly turning the surrounding hard rock into dust and debris flying into the air.

But... it was completely ineffective. The magic had hit empty space, merely wasting magic power. Although the enemy's position was briefly exposed during the attack, neither Punk nor Kane dared to pursue. This was because an even more terrifying rogue was hidden in the dark night, waiting for an opportunity!

Feeling the dwindling magic power, Punk realized that the Mage Armor, this powerful defensive barrier, wouldn't hold much longer...

At this moment, Kane, who was flashing like a light bulb, suddenly turned his head. He gently curled his lips and gave Punk a casual, yet undeniably sinister smile.

"I say~ Punk! I've heard... that those who are usually cowardly and timid can unleash incredible power in the face of death~ What do you think~~"?

"At least that's what they write in Knight novels"!

Punk didn't even look at him. Kane's thoughts clearly coincided with his own. However, this was natural; there were no extra choices in their current situation. Thinking of such a "brilliant plan" wasn't worth showing off. He gently stroked his broken staff. In his eyes now were only endless depth, distant horizons, and an unending, bone-chilling cold!

"Then today~ we can test the authenticity of Knight novels"!

Kane's eyes instantly filled with excitement and hysteria. He sneered and quickly turned, thrusting his spear, which radiated a dazzling glow, fiercely, without hesitation, and without mercy... into Put's abdomen. The spear created a horrific wound in Put's stomach, and a large amount of blood quickly dyed the grass beneath Kane and Punk red!

Ignoring Put's incredulous gaze, Kane, with a gentle smile almost perfectly like a "neighborly big brother," injected a large amount of berserk Light Battle Qi into Put's body through the spear. This battle qi would temporarily enhance Put's physical strength!

Put collapsed onto the blood-soaked ground, his expression bewildered. There were no screams, no curses, only disbelief etched onto his face... He couldn't believe he had been suddenly ambushed by a "trusted companion."

Kane yanked the spear from Put's belly. Splattering blood dyed half of Kane's armor red. Blood drops from the spear dripped onto the dust from the tip. The bright and radiant battle qi, refracted by the blood drops, was outlined with a splash of crimson...

Punk indifferently glanced at Put, who was clutching his wound and trembling slightly. He had to admit, Kane's actions were precise. The wound from the spear was enough to incapacitate Put, who only knew a few acceleration spells. The injected battle qi would prevent Put from losing consciousness even with significant blood loss before it was depleted. The precisely severed artery ensured Put would lose most of his blood in a short time. Once Kane's injected battle qi ran out, Put would immediately die. As two rogues, they lacked healing methods like a Priest, so they would only get a corpse, not a useful living captive!

Kane slung the spear over his shoulder and tilted his head slightly towards Punk, implying, "I've gone this far, you should show some sincerity too."

Punk still didn't respond to Kane. He looked at Put, whose dazed expression remained unchanged. He felt nothing in his heart—no guilt or sadness for a companion dying in his scheme, nor the excitement of "a trick well played" like Kane. It was simply a pure thought: "Ah, a living thing has died."

Shrugging lightly, as a perfunctory gesture of "sympathy" and mockery towards Put, Punk cast Mage Armor and several protective spells on him. This was certainly not Punk being kind-hearted. He just needed Put to withstand a few more enemy attacks, delaying the enemy for as long as possible!

Although the process of Punk and Kane's actions was complex and meticulous, it was all completed in mere seconds. Having finished their preparations, they immediately deactivated their heavily consumed defensive measures, unleashed their prepared spells and battle skills, and charged with all their might towards the distant Konola City. They left Put on the ground, curled up in agony and groaning—completely disregarded!

With Put lying on the ground, the enemy would absolutely not dare to pursue them openly. Doing so would cruelly expose their backs and weaknesses to Put. No one could be sure that his cowardice and timidity weren't a facade of playing the pig to eat the tiger, nor could anyone guarantee that Punk and Kane's "ruthlessness" wasn't a deliberate "ploy of self-inflicted injury." If they didn't want to suddenly take a Lesser Fireball to the back, they had to deal with the pitiful Put lying on the ground, who "appeared" to be incapacitated!

"This world is this cruel. Unless you transcend the world... no one can escape it."

Punk was enveloped in a transparent force field that eliminated resistance. The scenery illuminated by the moonlight around him turned into blurry oil paint due to the high-speed "retreat." The extreme speed generated high-pressure strong winds. Punk rapidly swept over the tender grass and flowers on the ground, their stems and leaves broken mercilessly, their roots easily crushed. The once quiet grass patch was now only filled with shattered withered leaves and debris.

Put was clearly not some novel's protagonist. Despite the battle qi enhancements and spell protections from Punk and Kane, he had completely lost the will to resist after falling to the ground. His mind was filled with fear and surprise, and he was dispatched with four or five strikes by the two rogues. Until his last moment, he still couldn't understand why his "chivalrous and gentle" Knight brother, who had once spoken of protecting him like a neighborly big brother, would suddenly attack him. And why did Senior Punk, who "looked cold but had a warm heart," not stop it but stand by with an indifferent expression? Unfortunately, he would never have the chance to ponder it again!

As a sharp and terrifying "crack" suddenly sounded in the night sky, the moonlit wilderness once again returned to silent emptiness!

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