Pursuit Battle

Som the Dwarf, whom Rhode had not seen for nearly a week, suddenly appeared before him, and Rhode could not hide the surprise on his face.

But he hurried forward and supported the blood-covered Som. "How did you end up here?"

Som panted heavily. "I-I ran into the Demon Race." He pointed deeper into the swamp. "They had countless Monsters with them, and they're closing in on the two of you."

Ever since Serie had defeated him so easily last time, Som had wanted to adventure with the two of them. During this time, he had been following them from afar.

He had originally planned to wait until he became stronger, then appear before them at the perfect moment and formally ask to join them on their adventures.

But plans could not keep up with change.

When he saw Rhode and Serie enter the Death Swamp, he followed them in without a second thought.

But he did not have Detection Magic and could not avoid the Monsters, so he charged straight into their midst.

Fortunately, the Demon Race in this area had focused all their attention on Rhode—or rather, Serie—allowing Som to fight his way out through sheer luck.

Then he ran into Rhode and the others.

With time running out, Som had no chance to explain everything in detail and could only summarize the situation in a few brief sentences.

But that slight delay was enough for the surrounding horde of Monsters to spring into action.

Serie's golden eyes instantly grew grave. "They're here."

"Can you still fight?"

Rhode looked at Som. Though Som was gasping for breath and covered in blood, a closer look revealed that most of it belonged to Monsters, not him.

"I can." Som let out a long breath, gradually steadying himself.

"Serie, do you know Healing Magic?"

Serie shook her head. "No. You can only learn Healing Magic by deciphering the Sacred Codex."

Rhode smacked his forehead. He had completely forgotten about that.

It seemed deciphering the Sacred Codex had to be added to his plans as well.

"We can only force our way out." Serie spoke in a low voice.

The Monsters had already closed to within twenty meters. The surrounding bushes began shaking violently, and dozens of scarlet eyes lit up in the darkness.

"Move!" With the situation so urgent, Serie had no time to think. She grabbed Rhode's hand. "Keep up!"

The latter half was naturally directed at Som the Dwarf.

Serie raised her hand and unleashed a wide-area Light Magic spell. This was not her usual Light Arrow, but something resembling a Light Pillar.

A Light Pillar appeared out of thin air above the Monsters in front of them, then crashed down with a blinding white flash and a deafening explosion.

"So strong!"

When the light faded, a vacant stretch dozens of meters wide had appeared before them. Everything within it, whether plants or Monsters, had been reduced to ash.

Before Rhode could even marvel at it, Serie dragged him forward and started running.

For Serie to be this tense and even use magic she had never used before, the situation was clearly unimaginably dangerous.

Before the smoke and dust from the explosion had dispersed, Serie had already pulled Rhode into the cleared path. He could even feel the scorching heat rising from the ground.

Som the Dwarf followed close behind, swinging his battle axe and activating its attached skill, blasting the pursuing Monsters into nothing but mangled remains.

"You handle the right!" Rhode shouted to Serie.

Three crocodile-like Monsters surged forward and pounced at them, while several more Monsters on the other side continued closing in.

Without even turning her head, Serie flung out three Light Arrows.

The three Monsters on the right had their heads pierced in midair, and their bodies crashed heavily to the ground.

Rhode did not possess Serie's precise control, so he directly unleashed a wide-area Arrow Rain, barely managing to wipe out the Monsters attacking from the left.

"Stay close!"

Serie reminded him again. Though she had a firm grip on Rhode's hand, if he failed to keep pace and fell behind, she was not confident she could save him.

They should have chosen to take a detour from the start.

But it was too late to say that now.

"What do Monsters usually rely on to catch prey?"

Rhode's sudden question confused Serie, but she still answered, "Most rely on their eyes and scent."

"Then I have an idea."

As Rhode ran, he cast magic and casually picked up a branch, releasing Water Magic and Fire Magic at the same time.

Rhode's Fire Magic could not create flames directly and needed a medium, such as something flammable in his hand.

Yet he could create water directly, and even he did not understand why.

By casting both spells simultaneously, dense white mist appeared around his hand. It was as if he had thrown several smoke bombs in succession, blanketing an area dozens of meters wide in only a few seconds.

The Monsters' roars immediately became chaotic. Having lost their most important sense, their vision, the already dim-witted Monsters could not distinguish direction based on scent alone.

Many of them even crashed into one another and began tearing each other apart.

"Amazing!" Som grinned, his face full of admiration. But he suddenly turned and swung his battle axe. "Watch your back!"

A lurking Giant Snake Demon was split in two by the battle axe, and foul-smelling blood sprayed everywhere.

Som hurriedly dodged. The blood of this snake-like Monster contained toxins. When he had killed Monsters in this swamp before, he had also tried to avoid getting the blood of such poisonous Monsters on himself.

"You created this too?"

Feeling the chaos among the surrounding Monsters, Serie asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. You saw it before when I used water to put out fires, right? It creates white smoke."

Serie nodded. During her travels with Rhode, she had naturally seen him extinguish campfires. Several times, he had stood staring blankly at an extinguished fire, which had left Serie puzzled.

Only now did she realize that he had been trying to create this magic back then.

"Don't get carried away!" Seeing Som the Dwarf look ready to slaughter everything while the surrounding Monsters had lost their vision, Serie shouted sharply.

The three of them were close enough to barely make out one another through the thick mist, but once they moved too far apart, they would lose their sense of direction just like the Monsters.

She raised both hands again, and a dazzling halo spread outward from her.

The Monsters touched by the halo screamed and collapsed.

Then she cast another spell, this time Plant Magic.

Green light flickered around her hands as countless thorny vines burst from the ground, forming a barrier behind the three of them.

The Monsters crashed into the Thorn Barrier, letting out agonized howls.

This was the first time Rhode had seen Serie use Plant Magic in all these days. No wonder she rarely used it. Compared to the lethal light element, Plant Magic was more suited for support.