Chapter 71

A powerful blue arrow shot out rapidly, instantly piercing Mordekaiser's body and shattering the [Mark of the Kindred] beneath his feet.

The immense force carried Mordekaiser hundreds of meters away, also taking him out of the [Lamb's Respite] domain.

At the same time, [Lamb's Respite] ended, and an even more powerful healing energy erupted instantly, surrounding the Wolf Spirit and Chen Ce's bodies and healing them from head to toe.

Kindred seemed to have gained a slight advantage in this round of combat.

But her pretty face, hidden behind the mask, still showed no sign of relaxation.

Instead, it became even more somber.

The [Lamb's Respite] spell just now consumed most of her mana, and the three piercing arrows that shot Mordekaiser away further depleted her already meager mana...

This combination of tactics still failed to deliver a fatal blow to Mordekaiser...

Wolf Spirit and Chen Ce's injuries had not fully healed...

The situation is even worse than it started...

They've run out of ideas...

"Annoying little creature... Perhaps you should call your creator to fight me..."

In the darkness and thick fog of the distance, Mordekaiser's massive body gradually rose to its feet.

His armor also bore many wounds—especially his breastplate, which had been pierced by the light arrow and even had three large holes in it.

But he wasn't nervous.

Because the Death Realm is his domain.

He has as much energy and "supplements" as he wants.

"Endless ghosts..."

The thick fog in the distance began to gather, and Mordekaiser reached out and used his brutal energy to imprison countless wraiths.

Then, the ghosts let out painful howls.

And then, amidst the wailing, it became nourishment for that iron armor.

In the blink of an eye, Mordekaiser's armor was restored to its original state.

Thump! His hammer slammed heavily into the ground, standing upright like a spear.

"The afterlife is calling..."

Ahri, now a white fox, began to wander around the Spirit Tree.

She was very anxious, but right now she couldn't even touch her ears, let alone go to the Death Realm to tear Mordekaiser apart and save Chen Ce.

Now, even scratching an itch requires her to kick her face with her leg, like she's fixing a cat or dog...

"Waaaaah (What's this all about?)..."

"Waaaaah (That sound is so weird)..."

"Eek, ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee (Oh, that's how foxes do sound, isn't it?)..."

"Waaaaaah (No, this isn't the time to worry about that!)!"

"Waaaaah (I must go save my darling)!"

The nine-tailed white fox... no, Ahri, is full of energy again.

Full of energy... they continued circling the Spirit Tree.

After circling around dozens of times, she finally collapsed on the ground, exhausted—her limbs outstretched, her tail covering her body as if she were about to eat a feast.

"Waaah (It's not working at all)..."

Ahri looked at her short legs with a pitiful expression, on the verge of tears.

Even her ears are longer than her legs...

He can't even climb a tree...

"Waaaaah (Oh dear, what am I going to do?)..."

The shade under the Spirit Tree was very cool, and the bright moonlight shone through the gaps between the leaves.

The heartbroken little fox rolled over, wanting the cold moonlight to illuminate her even colder heart.

But just as she turned over, she suddenly saw something hanging on the tree that looked very familiar.

One...

A half-human, half-deer "thing"...

"Waaaa (Lillia)?!" Ahri suddenly jumped up—the kind of jump that's 0.3 feet high.

"Waaaaah (Lillia)! Waaaaah, waaaah (What are you doing there? Come down here!)!"

The little deer girl in the tree did not react.

She appeared to have her eyes closed.

A strange magic flowed through her... as dazzling as the aurora borealis... a beautiful, flowing light...

It looked like she had a... blooming bud on her head?

She had a bud before, but that one was "waiting to bloom," while this one is "in full bloom."

"Waaaa (Lillia)?" Ahri was even more confused.

But what puzzled her even more was what came next—

Suddenly, countless magical dust particles rained down from the blooming bud above Lillia's head, like countless beautiful fireflies slowly descending.

Ahri instinctively tried to dodge, but her four short legs suddenly became uncontrollable—and she was forced to freeze in place.

The dazzling magical dust gradually settled, landing on her furry body.

The next moment, she suddenly heard some strange whispers.

So gentle... like a mother's tender whisper before bedtime...

"Ahri, welcome to the Spirit Realm..."

I'm so sorry to have left you all alone all these years...

"Really... you've worked so hard..."

"I am no longer able to maintain the balance in the Spirit Realm... Consider this insignificant gift my final gift to you..."

Go find the person who truly cherishes you...

As soon as she finished speaking, Ahri saw a phantom figure appear on the Spirit Tree... She was very beautiful and looked a lot like herself, with a pair of fluffy fox ears and nine fluffy fox tails. The only difference was her hair color.

The illusory figure fell.

She held a dazzling ball of light in her hands.

Urged on by his subconscious, Ahri stretched out a front paw and touched the ball of light.

The next moment, she felt all the magic that had been "sealed" return to her.

It may even become more powerful.

Her body... also transformed back into human form.

But it seems different from before.

She saw her reflection in the pool Spirit Tree.

"This is... me?"

Chapter 84 The Zoo War

Chen Ce and Kindred are really at their breaking point.

No matter the attack or the severity of the injury, Mordekaiser can quickly recover by absorbing ghosts, making him virtually unkillable.

The Death Realm is his domain.

Here, even the highest gods must bow their heads to him.

Just as his actions proved the proverb—[God was powerless to save them, for I came]—...

"This time, we're truly at our wits' end..."

After another arduous struggle, Chen Ce, nearly exhausted and covered in wounds, could think of no way to escape.

Even if he used Realm of Death directly on Kindred now, there's a very high chance Mordekaiser would forcibly pull him back from the world portal, making the situation even worse— Realm of Death also consumes a lot of his physical strength and mana.

Realm of Death is ineffective, it's impractical for Kindred to simply open the Gate of the Underworld to escape— Mordekaiser would stop her anyway.

Escaping the Death Realm is unlikely, so...

Resistance? That seems even more difficult.

This huge lump of metal in front of me is impossible to kill, and its speed and strength far exceed my own. Even if I try to escape within the realm of the Death Realm, I will be caught sooner or later.

Then it was hit with a hammer and turned into a complete mouse fragment.

"This is a huge problem..."

Chen Ce looked at his mangled body again. Every inch of his flesh was in excruciating pain—the long bones in his limbs were broken or damaged to varying degrees, several ribs were broken, and his internal organs were bleeding from the violent shaking...

In this situation, escape is hopeless.

Then there's no need to harm people anymore.

"Miss Kindred ... thank you so much for your help. Please leave now..." Chen Ce spoke while adjusting his breathing, trying to make his voice sound less weak. "Open the Gate of the Underworld and escape this place... I'll be there shortly..."

"Hmm?" Upon hearing this, the girl wearing a mask turned her head.

Her tone remained gentle and calm, like the warm breeze of early spring in Ionia: "First, I'm very grateful for your intention to protect me, but I will not abandon the soul of any living being; secondly..."

Thank you for calling me 'Miss Kindred' and treating me as a life equal to yours.

As soon as she finished speaking, Kindred smiled and drew the pale blue longbow in her hand—even though her magic power was almost depleted.

"Let's try again, dear hungry wolf."

"Yes, yes! Kill him, lamb!"

"Cut open his armor."

"Tear his body apart!"

Wolf Spirit and Light Arrow charged out simultaneously, attacking Mordekaiser without hesitation, seemingly intent on perishing together with him.

But the latter doesn't think so.

He simply and slowly raised the Nightfall.

As the Wolf Spirit and the light arrow approached, the enormous nail hammer swiftly fell.

Thud! With a loud bang, Mordekaiser blocked the light arrow without any doubt, and the Wolf Spirit that had arrived with the light arrow was also heavily knocked away by Nightfall.

Those human bone nails instantly tore the Wolf Spirit's skin open, making its already illusory body even more blurry, as if it were about to disappear into the Lord of the Death Realm like those ownerless wandering souls at any moment.

But that's not all.

Mordekaiser once again raised Nightfall against it, intending to eradicate it completely—just as he had done when he was a warlord.

To cut the weeds, you must pull them out by the roots; even those who aren't quite dead should be finished off.

The hammer fell again, and the exhausted Wolf Spirit could only watch helplessly.

It was prepared to once again withstand the attack with its own body, creating opportunities for Kindred to deal damage.

Just as it stretched out its neck, ready to trade blows, the hammer that was about to strike it suddenly changed its trajectory.

Thump! The Nightfall crashed to the ground, sending up clouds of dust.

The group was initially surprised, but then they all looked in the direction where the smoke and dust were dissipating.

There was a dazzling purple light there, and...

A blurry human figure.

"The more you kill, the more ants there are..." Mordekaiser shook his arm, which had been shaken from the shock, and had already guessed what the blurry figure in the smoke and dust was.