Following the guidance of Viscera Divination, Punk arrived beside a dilapidated wooden house that had been smashed in half by a boulder. This was the eastern part of the city. Since the main battlefield was in the south, it was much quieter here, with only a few refugees sitting by broken walls and weeping.
Punk stood atop a cracked piece of granite. Specks of dried blood still stained the ground around him. This place was already quite close to where the two Formal Level big shots were fighting, and the violent tremors constantly sent small stones bouncing and flying across the ground.
The divination indicated that this was where he was most likely to "encounter" an opportunity to escape. Although Punk did not quite understand why something as simple as fleeing required seizing an opportunity, he chose to trust Viscera Divination. Though the spell radiated an eerie and terrifying aura from beginning to end, he had to admit that it was the best Divination Spell he had mastered, even if it was only an Apprentice Level spell!
"Looks like something is about to change." Shaking his head lightly, Punk tried to cast off the strange lingering sensation left by Viscera Divination. As magic power circulated, the unpleasant feeling of his brain being wrapped in slick tentacles gradually faded. He took a deep breath, raised his head slightly, and watched the battle between the two Formal Level experts in the sky.
Violent shockwaves tore the clouds apart. Even with Punk's reaction speed, he could only see a red streak and a green streak collide and separate in an instant. As the battle became increasingly intense, terrifying energy tides even swept across vast sections of the city. Emerald-green corrosive energy effortlessly turned sturdy brick-and-tile houses into glowing mist amid sizzling sounds.
Punk leaped back two steps and cautiously replenished his Mage Armor with energy. Even the aftershocks from attacks by Formal Level experts were not something he could endure right now. He had to be more careful.
The flames near the city walls burned ever more fiercely. Since most of Konola City's buildings were wooden, and all kinds of magical flames spread easily, large swathes of houses caught fire with little effort. Several densely built streets had even turned into fire dragons, and the rolling black smoke temporarily obscured Mira and Chikasa's radiance.
"The city has fallen! The city has fallen!"
The clearly magic-amplified cry came from the southern gate, where the sounds of battle shook the heavens. Punk looked over with considerable displeasure.
"Is the enemy trying to disrupt morale... No! It isn't. The city gate has really been breached!"
Punk's pupils contracted slightly. The incompetence of these city guards had still exceeded his expectations. Not even half the morning had passed, yet the enormous Konola City had already been breached. In that case... should he escape amid the chaos now, or... Just as Punk hesitated...
BOOM!!!
A tremendous roar exploded nearby. A humanoid figure completely wrapped in vines fell from the sky like a meteor. The entire eastern district became a massive meteor crater, while the thick dust formed an enormous mushroom cloud. Vast stretches of earth cracked and shattered, and everything in the area was pulverized and hurled through the air in an instant.
"Damn it!"
Punk's expression changed drastically as several huge chunks of rock hurled him into the air. After casting a Feather Fall Spell, he leaped repeatedly between fragments of stone still tumbling through the sky. Faintly glowing white Aether Energy clung to the soles of his feet. After several nimble evasions of debris flying everywhere, Punk returned to the ground. But the first thing he needed to do was get away from that "humanoid figure" that had fallen from the sky, because... he could distinctly sense a soul-energy fluctuation specially memorized by the system. Without a doubt, that "person" wrapped in vines—was Mainesi!
"This is really troublesome."
Though Punk's face remained expressionless, inwardly he was gritting his teeth. If Mainesi had truly "fallen" like this, who would stop Lunka?
"Wait! Lunka!" Punk hurriedly raised his head and searched everywhere for Lunka. He only hoped Lunka was no longer so "high-spirited," preferably severely wounded or even dead alongside Mainesi. Otherwise... he could not imagine how he could escape alive while being pursued by a Formal Level expert.
Fortunately, things had not reached the worst possible point. Punk spotted Lunka atop the already occupied city wall. It seemed that although Lunka had defeated Mainesi, he had paid an enormous price himself. With Punk's eyesight, he could clearly see that one of Lunka's arms was gone, while his left leg was badly swollen. Something even seemed to be slowly wriggling inside it. It was likely one of Mainesi's curses. After suffering such injuries, Lunka could not possibly continue leading the charge.
Yet Punk's brows did not relax because of this. The situation remained incomparably difficult. With Lunka stationed there, the soldiers and professionals entering the city could no longer freely plunder valuables without a commander's supervision. They could only carry out orders obediently. In other words, the enemy's cleanup of the city would have "order," which was extremely unfavorable to Punk's evacuation plan.
Besides... Punk did not need to think to know what orders the enemy would give. Strictly speaking, the defeated Konola City and every "living thing" within it now belonged to Prince William as spoils of war. Along with Her Highness the Princess, whom the enemy was determined to capture... sealing the city off, or even massacring it, could be considered entirely "reasonable" choices.
Sure enough, less than ten seconds after Lunka arrived at the city wall to oversee the command, an enemy soldier in extravagant clothing climbed onto a conspicuous watchtower atop the wall. Rather than raising the gold-trimmed flag that conventionally signified occupation, he instead...
The soldier raised an ornate sword high overhead, then viciously drove it diagonally into a crack in the city wall. Every Konola city guard and commoner watching the wall widened their eyes in terror, because on the Faerun plane, such an action by an occupying army had only one meaning—massacre the city!
In Faerun, a world where the concept of "humanitarianism" did not exist, city massacres were often used by rulers to display their "majesty." Now, perhaps to prevent the princess from escaping, or perhaps because Lunka wanted to vent his fury over his injuries, he had issued the cruel order to massacre the city! He intended to slaughter all nearly two hundred thousand "rioters" in Konola City!
With Lunka overseeing the command, it was not difficult to imagine that these "elite" soldiers of Prince William would turn into the most ruthless and efficient killing machines. Punk was certain that at least one squad of professionals was now guarding every city gate and major route. If he tried to force his way out alone, he would definitely die without a burial place!
"Ah! Mr. Mainesi, I hope you have some way to help."
Although Punk desperately wanted to stay away from this mess involving Mainesi and Her Highness the Princess, circumstances were stronger than him. He still had to lend Mainesi a hand. Combining the princess's absence from start to finish with the divination's hint, Punk could be certain that Mainesi had left himself a way to retreat. Without a lifebuoy, Punk could not yet abandon Mainesi's "broken raft." Besides... he could sense that Mainesi still had a trace of life left. Though that flame of life was like a candle guttering in the wind, gathering and scattering without cease.
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