Competition

Moonlight flowed like water.

Inside the small grove.

Sulu and Donald maintained their expressions, standing face-to-face like statues.

From Donald's gaze, Sulu could clearly see fear, helplessness, and struggle.

Snap!

At that moment, Donald moved!

Of course, it was not him moving of his own volition, but the shadow manipulating him, step by step, reaching out its hands to lock Sulu in a chokehold.

Is the target this time... to kill me?

Sulu's hair stood on end in an instant: Has the recent series of events truly made It wary?

Donald wore an expression of utter helplessness, like a marionette, yet he continued to advance.

I cannot let this continue!

Sulu glanced at his attribute panel and swiftly activated the exclusive ability of his LV4 Krav Maga Combat Arts—Tiger Power!

[Tiger Power—Strength +0.4! Duration: 30 seconds. After use, enter a weakened state: Strength -0.2, Constitution -0.2, for 3 hours!]

If this still wasn't enough, he would pour all his experience into Krav Maga!

Roar!

In an instant, he felt a massive surge of warmth flood his entire body, bringing with it terrifying power!

His Krav Maga training up to this point had only increased his strength by a total of 0.4, yet now it had doubled in a single moment!

How terrifying was this boost?

The veins on Sulu's face bulged, his physique seemed to expand, and he let out a thunderous shout: "Get... lost!!!"

Rumble!

His voice echoed like thunder through the forest.

Snap!

Beneath his feet, the entangling shadow, stretched to its limit like a taut rope, suddenly snapped in the middle.

A mass of black shadow retreated rapidly, vanishing into the forest.

With strength nearing 2.0—double that of an average adult—Sulu finally broke free from the shadow's restraint and regained his mobility.

Opposite him, Donald collapsed to the ground, a look of relief washing over him.

"Don't think you're getting away!"

Taking advantage of the berserk state—no!—the remaining duration of Tiger Power, Sulu kicked off the ground.

Bang!

A small crater appeared in the earth, and using that force, he launched himself like a cannonball, chasing the black shadow into the woods.

As a muscle-based warrior, he would be a fool to engage a mage in a ranged battle; he had to force a close-quarters confrontation!

Whoosh!

His suddenly increased strength made him feel like the king of the forest, crashing through everything in his path.

Finally, after sprinting several hundred meters, Sulu spotted a dark figure.

The figure was crouching in the forest, and the mass of shadow merged into them, causing them to let out a muffled groan: "Damn it..."

Could it be... a magical backlash?

Seeing this, Sulu was overjoyed and gave chase.

Based on his own experience practicing Corpse Maiden Creation, any spell that failed during casting would inevitably backlash against the caster; the only difference was the severity.

Perhaps if he rushed over, a single Tiger Style would finish it!

The distance between them closed rapidly.

100 meters!

50 meters!

20 meters!

At this distance, seeing the fiery curves of the figure, Sulu was certain that the mastermind was a woman! And, she was currently suffering from a magical backlash!

Opportunity!

Sulu's heart burned: Right here, I will finish her!

A mysterious spellcaster! The shadow that killed Beatrice! The true culprit who tried to frame him!

All of this had long since destined that there was no room for negotiation between them!

A trace of cold killing intent began to linger in Sulu's heart.

Although he had lived two lifetimes, he had never killed anyone, yet he knew that if he left this mastermind alive, he would certainly not have an easy time of it! Even the fact that he had suddenly broken free from the shadow's restraint just now was due to his element of surprise, not something he could ignore next time.

Therefore, he had to kill her!

"What are you still waiting for?"

Just then, the black shadow suddenly raised its head and let out a voice that had been deliberately lowered.

"What?"

Sulu was shocked.

In the dense forest, another figure had appeared around the black shadow.

There were actually two masterminds!

And both were women!

This figure also had a hot body and pointed a finger at Sulu.

Suddenly, Sulu let out a muffled groan, feeling a pain in his head as if he had been pricked by a needle, and his speed slowed down instantly.

Another spellcaster!

At this moment, he couldn't help but feel the urge to retreat.

He had dared to chase them before because there was only one opponent and she had suffered a backlash from her spell, but now, it was completely different.

"What's going on?"

But the spellcaster opposite him seemed even more surprised than he was: "His soul is too strong, I can't suppress him!"

"Help me leave!"

The first woman who used shadow magic hissed.

The woman beside her immediately helped her up. Both were wearing pitch-black cloaks that covered their faces, but they didn't seem very old, appearing like two witches.

While retreating, the second witch looked back at Sulu.

Those bright, sparkling eyes now became the breach for a flood to pour through.

In an instant, Sulu felt a wave of pressure crash down upon him.

Unlike the needle-like prick from before, this was a complete burden—not physical, but as if a set of heavy armor had been placed directly onto his soul!

This was an invisible contest from the spiritual realm.

Fortunately!

Sulu's body became incredibly heavy, yet he could barely move, which was naturally due to his mental power being far higher than that of an ordinary person.

"What's going on? Why is he still standing?"

The two female spellcasters opposite him exclaimed in succession and hurriedly fled in a panic.

It was unknown how much time had passed before the pressure receded like a tide.

Sulu let out a long breath, nearly collapsing to the ground.

Even though his mental power was decent, he had lost to the spellcasters opposite him in the contest just now.

This proved that the opponent's mental power was even higher than his own.

Under such suppression, challenging two people would be truly unwise.

Therefore, he chose to give up.

"Fortunately... I've gained enough information today. At the very least, there are two enemies, and both are female!"

Sulu's eyes shifted: "One uses shadow magic, the other uses mental power to harm enemies directly... The one who casts shadow magic seems to have some limitations, for instance... she cannot control too many people at once, nor can she command the shadow to kill someone directly?"

Whether it was the previous attack in the private room or just now, the shadow only controlled two targets.

Furthermore, she did not let the shadow kill directly, but had to do so by manipulating the bound person. For example, before, she could not force Sulu to commit suicide, but had to make Donald do it, which gave Sulu plenty of room for speculation.

Perhaps this was the limitation of the shadow?

"So-called spells... especially those of the manipulation type, are similar to contests on a mental level. It's just like in my previous life; even the most brilliant hypnotist cannot hypnotize someone into committing suicide, because it violates the instinct of the subconscious..."

"But even so, they are still very powerful!"

Sulu rested for a moment and stood up with a sense of melancholy.

Above his attribute panel, the Tiger Power faded, and a weakened state appeared, immediately making him pant even more.

"Where are the attackers?"

Behind him, Donald caught up hesitantly.

Seeing that Sulu was still alive, his expression became very strange.

"The way you look... it seems like you were hoping to collect my corpse, weren't you?"

Sulu was speechless, realizing that his previous actions had been a bit reckless.

If those two women had been even a little more powerful, it was very likely that he would have been the one to die.