Battle and Breakthrough

"Vinewood Ropes!"

A green circular Magic Array appeared on the ground behind John. Two dark green vines as thick as three fingers burst from the earth, wrapped around John's feet, and pulled hard backward, trying to drag him away from the Fat Woman.

"Hmph!"

John snorted heavily. Red Battle Qi appeared around his feet, and as it flowed, the vines shattered one after another.

"Slash!"

Breaking free of the vines and steadying himself, John raised his sword and slashed again.

"Blood Moon Slash!"

This time, the Blood Moon Slash was not released. Instead, it gathered on the blade without being unleashed, waiting for the moment of contact to shatter the shield in one strike.

"Air Quagmire!"

At that moment, the second Magic Array activated by the Fat Woman unfolded. As the translucent array flickered faintly, the air between John and the Fat Woman suddenly became viscous. The longsword John had swung out slowed more and more.

These nonlethal restraints were merely the Fat Woman's means of buying time. In the brief moment John was held back, she formed a triangle before her chest with her fingers. The white triangular Magic Array she had used to control the young man appeared again, far more complex than before.

"Mental Shock!"

A beam of white light shot from the Magic Array and struck John before he could dodge.

"Hmph!"

John groaned. His vision went black, and his mind felt as though it had been stabbed by needles. He could not focus and became dazed for a moment.

Huff...

The Fat Woman let out a long breath. She knew she had temporarily escaped disaster. The most important thing now was to put some distance between herself and John, then call those useless idiots outside to help.

So the Fat Woman struggled to her feet with all her strength and shouted:

"Someone! Assassin!"

Yet at that exact moment, cheers from the adventure group members rang out outside.

"Found it!"

"Great!"

"We're rich!"

"..."

The cheers of fifteen burly men completely drowned out the Fat Woman's cry for help, and what they were cheering about made her pause in surprise.

The chance is here!

Parr, who had been lying low and specialized in sneak attacks, climbed in through the window. With one leap, he landed on John's shoulder, then jumped again toward the slightly stunned Fat Woman.

"Slanting Slash!"

While still in midair, Parr passed through the shield in front of the Fat Woman and struck at her head with his sword. Then...

Naturally, the strike was blocked by a translucent shield that appeared over the Fat Woman's body.

"Why does everyone have one of these things?"

How many times had this been now? The fourth time. This was the fourth time Parr had seen this kind of shield. Its defense was not particularly strong, but it could still block one attack, and when it shattered, it released a shockwave. It was just disgusting.

"Still, it's within expectations."

Parr did not follow up with a second strike in midair, because there was not enough time. By then, he had already landed behind the Fat Woman. Without hesitation, he turned upon landing and swung his sword.

"Wind Wolf Basic Swordsmanship: Horizontal..."

Parr's attack did not succeed, because as he turned, the Fat Woman turned as well. With a sweep of her fat hand, she flung a triangular white Magic Array straight into Parr's face.

It was so fast that even Parr's Danger Prediction did not react.

In an instant, Parr's vision went black, and he could no longer feel his body. Then everything returned to normal just as suddenly. The Church Honorary Knight Badge John had given him was glowing faintly. Clearly, the badge had taken effect.

"Hm?"

As a mage, the Fat Woman was well-informed. She recognized the Church's Honorary Knight Badge at once, but she did not care. Such badges were remarkably effective against the techniques of cultists, but far less effective against a mage's spells. It was not that they did nothing—their effects were simply greatly reduced.

Thus, the Fat Woman swept her hand again, slapping a Magic Array slightly more complex than the previous one into Parr's face.

"Mental Cage!"

"Again?"

Parr finally understood how troublesome mages were. They did not fight you head-on with real weapons. They simply used all sorts of strange spells to disgust you.

This time, Parr did not break free. The moment his vision went black, he could no longer feel his body, though his mind remained perfectly clear. His consciousness sensed a thin membrane around him, cutting off his control over his body.

With Parr's current Mental Power, it was simply not enough to break through the membrane called Mental Cage.

"In that case, I'll just have to level up."

There was no other way. They were forcing Parr to cheat, so he had no choice but to cheat!

The Status Panel existed within Parr's soul. Even without control of his body, he could still operate it as long as he remained conscious.

After opening the Status Panel, Parr did not hesitate. He directly chose to spend 10 Mental Energy Points to raise his Magic Apprentice realm.

Ding, spend 10 Mental Energy Points to raise realm to Intermediate Magic Apprentice? "Yes!"

Ding, 10 Mental Energy Points consumed. Realm upgrade complete.

Name: Parr Tianxing Gender: Male Race: Human Race

Age: 10 (20)

Realm:

Intermediate Knight Apprentice (10/200)

Intermediate Magic Apprentice (0/20)

Stamina: 200/200 Mental Power: 20/20 HP: 100/100 Life Energy Points: 72 Mental Energy Points: 91

In an instant, Parr felt his mind clear. The sudden surge in Mental Power directly broke through the membrane trapping his consciousness.

Pop! A sound like a bubble bursting rang beside his ears. Parr discovered that he had regained control of his body. Opening his eyes, he saw a lump of white flesh with its back to him, protected only by a translucent shield that was close to shattering.

After immobilizing Parr, the Fat Woman had immediately turned to face John, who had just recovered. She knew that this Advanced Bronze Knight was the true threat.

"What an eyesore!"

Parr blinked and took in the situation. He silently sheathed his sword, stepped forward, and violently drew the Black Short Sword, smoothly unleashing a three-hit combo.

"Upward Flick! Slanting Slash! Horizontal Slash!"

"Ah..."

The Fat Woman was using the white barrier in front of her to hold off the recovered John while preparing a powerful move. A sense of foreboding rose in her heart, but it was too late. Before she could react, she felt a chill on her back. Once, twice, then a third time. Pain and weakness immediately drowned her consciousness, and the white barrier she was maintaining with all her strength wavered.

"Die!"

John seized the opportunity and pressed forward with all his strength. The Dark Knight One-Handed Sword, blazing with dense Battle Qi, finally broke through the defense and pierced the Fat Woman's heart.

"Urgh..."

The Fat Woman's eyes widened. Her mouth hung open weakly, the fat all over her body trembled, and then she crashed to the ground.

Bang! Huff...

Only then did the shockwave from the shattering translucent shield erupt, pushing Parr and John back against the wall.

Bang! Parr slammed into the wall and bared his teeth in pain. Then he sheathed his sword and rubbed his aching back.

John was unharmed. The instant the shockwave dissipated, he stepped forward and kicked the Fat Woman's corpse into the corner of the wooden hut. He did not want to see her anymore. At that moment, the cheering outside stopped.

"Stop celebrating! We haven't got the goods yet!"

"Yeah! You maggots, keep digging!"

"Dig!"

"Hurry up!"

"Keep watch. I'll go notify the boss!"

"..."

This battle had not lasted long. After their cheers, the adventure group members impatiently urged the miners to keep digging. Then, once they came down from their excitement, they remembered their leader—the Fat Woman. She was the one who had brought them here.

So someone turned and ran toward the small wooden hut.

Bang bang bang! "Boss, we..."

The adventurer who came to notify the Fat Woman did not barge through the door. He knew her temperament and cruelty. She would never show mercy to anyone who interrupted her enjoyment.

However, before the adventurer could finish a complete sentence, a bloodstained Dark Knight One-Handed Sword pierced through the wooden door and stabbed into his chest. It twisted once before being pulled back.

Bang! The adventurer fell forward limply against the door, then was kicked aside by John as he pushed the door open. He was not dead yet. Looking at John in his black light armor, his eyes were full of confusion. Who is this? How did he come out of the boss's room? And why the hell did he stab me?

"..."

John ignored the adventurer, who was already doomed, and silently walked toward the group surrounding the edge of the Mine Pit. With a flick of his longsword, the blood on its blade drew a streak across the ground.

Parr followed him out of the wooden hut. Tilting his head, he glanced at the adventurer who was not yet dead, then leaned closer and softly said:

"Uncle, let me end your suffering!"

As he spoke, Parr drew the Black Short Sword and stabbed it into the adventurer's heart.

"Your sister..."

The adventurer's eyes widened. He died with his grievance unfulfilled! If he could have finished a full sentence, it probably would have been: I think I can still be saved.

"Dig faster!"

"We can see the entrance! Hurry up and dig!"

"..."

The remaining fourteen adventure group members were staring intently at the Mine Pit, occasionally shouting for the miners to dig faster. As the excavation continued, an opening at the edge of the Mine Pit was revealed. It was pitch-black, like a mouth waiting to swallow people whole.

"What are you digging for?"

Someone suddenly asked.

The adventurer beside him did not think much of it and impatiently replied, "What kind of stupid question is that? The Magic Empire's Ruins, of course."

"Oh? There are Ruins here?"

"Why the hell do you have so many questions? Didn't we come here for the Ruins..."

As he spoke, the adventurer turned to see which idiot had asked him so many questions. Then he saw that, at some point, a red-haired man clad in black light armor had appeared among them.

"Who are you?"

Those were the adventurer's last words. John then cut off his head.

"!!!!"

The surrounding adventure group members widened their eyes. They froze for a moment, then reacted.

"Enemy!"

"Die!"

"Kill him!"

"..."

Everyone roared and instantly drew the weapons they always kept at hand, rushing forward to surround and kill him.

"A bunch of weaklings!"

John curled his lips in a disdainful smile. Then the longsword in his hand shone with dazzling red light once more.

"Shadow Split!"

Two phantoms holding illusory longswords appeared beside John. Together with him, they fought the surrounding adventure group members. The battle was fierce, leaving Parr, who had arrived behind them, no chance to interfere.

Please leave a few wounded ones for me to finish off!

After silently praying, the idle Parr lowered his head to look at the Black Short Sword.

Ding, detected...