Chapter 28

He had no idea how potent the poison in him was. Now was not the time to get tangled up with the enemy.

Just as the two sides were locked in a stalemate, the World Tree Necklace at Lin Hanxuan's neck suddenly gave off a faint green glow. Even Kun, far away at the bottom of some unknown sea, sensed that Lin Hanxuan seemed to have been poisoned.

"Hmph!" A cold snort came from Lin Hanxuan's nose. The mighty aura of the divine beast Kun spread outward. The tiger-man on the roof bore the brunt of it; his legs went weak, and he toppled to the ground. Niu Dacheng also felt as if all the strength in his body had been sucked dry in an instant. Drenched in sweat, he slumped to the ground, panting hard.

Peiganbo saw that the chance could not be missed and sped up, flying toward the Rotting Swamp.

At that same moment, every resident of Dead City sensed that incomparably powerful divine-beast aura. The entire city fell silent in an instant; even the beastmen who had been speaking loudly in the restaurant shut their mouths in alarm.

"Lin Hanxuan, are you all right?" In Lin Hanxuan's sea of consciousness, Lowe called out anxiously.

"It's nothing serious." Kun moved his pelvic fins and said coldly, "Lin Hanxuan is far too careless. The enemy's target wasn't him at all, yet he still got caught up in it."

Hearing Kun say that nothing serious had happened to Lin Hanxuan, Lowe felt much more at ease.

Caiyu, on the other hand, saw through Kun's worry and said with a smile, "Little Kun, you're just shy. You're always pretending to be all cold and icy, but in truth, you're very worried about Lin Hanxuan, aren't you?"

"Of course. Right now, he's my only hope of getting free. Before I leave this damned place, he'd better stay alive for me." Kun pretended to speak fiercely.

"Heehee, I heard humans have a saying. This is what they call 'a knife mouth, tofu heart.' What's there to be embarrassed about when you care about Lin Hanxuan? You're his master. Isn't it only right and proper for a master to care about his disciple?" Caiyu covered her mouth as she teased Kun.

"Tch. With him looking so wretched, if I said he was my disciple, wouldn't that brat Ivan laugh his teeth out? Looks like I'll have to find another time to give him some proper special training." Caiyu had exposed Kun's thoughts, and he was too embarrassed to admit it, so he could only keep putting on a fierce front.

Listening to the conversation between the couple, Lowe, off to the side, was worrying about something else. It seemed that even Dead City was not all that safe. Now Master Fields would have another headache.

Somewhere in an underground palace in Beast Territory—

"Vice Seat." A pitch-black figure drifted through the air, half-real, half-illusory.

"Shadow, you sensed it too?" Kasin, wearing a mask, said.

"Yes. Such powerful divine might." Shadow drifted slowly; it was very difficult to see his form stabilize.

"Heh heh. No matter how hard you try to hide it, how could the Overlord's will be sealed away for long by a few man-made restrictions?" Kasin sneered.

"Kasin." The Overlord's rigid voice sounded in Vice Seat Kasin's mind.

"Yes, your subordinate is here." Hearing the Overlord's summons, Kasin turned around to face the wall at the very rear of the hall and knelt respectfully. Seeing Kasin kneel, Shadow knew the Overlord had something to instruct the Vice Seat, and he hurriedly drifted out of the palace. He would not dare offend the Overlord's majesty.

"You are mistaken. That was not me," the Overlord said slowly, his voice sounding very old.

"Yes, your subordinate knows his mistake." Beneath the mask, Kasin's panic could not be seen.

"There is no need to worry. That divine might will not interfere with our plan. Even if every person in Dead City is killed, he will not meddle in this matter," the Overlord said with great certainty.

"Yes." Kasin's pupils flickered with a thoughtful look. The Overlord seemed to know the owner of that divine might... and even appeared to have some reservations. Just who, or what, was the sacred being that had released that divine might?

Helplessly watching Peiganbo fly farther and farther away, Niu Dacheng and the tiger-man Ishir, both slumped on the ground, looked at each other with wry smiles.

"This time we've really made people laugh their teeth out." Niu Dacheng planted the great iron hammer in his right hand against the ground and struggled somewhat to his feet.

"Hmph. Fields really dotes on Lin Hanxuan, huh? To think there's something that terrifying inside his body. Old Ox, do you know what that was?" Ishir asked resentfully.

"No idea." Niu Dacheng shook his head and said, "I'd say Lin Hanxuan must have had some other strange encounter. We've known Fields for so long, and he's never mentioned this thing."

Ishir swallowed and asked again, "Old Ox, in your opinion, what exactly was that? A protective charm, or that child's guardian deity?"

Niu Dacheng widened his pair of ox eyes, big as bronze bells, and glared straight at him. Displeased, he said, "Tiger Man, exactly which one of us is the mage, you or me? You're asking an ox-warrior a question about magic—do you think I know more than you do?"

Ishir flew into a rage and roared, "How many times have I told you? You're not allowed to call me Tiger Man!"

Niu Dacheng ignored him and walked out of the fence around Lin Hanxuan's house on his own, muttering as he went, "Forget it. I'm not getting involved with that mantis business anymore. You people can report it to the Great Commander."

A faint rustle came from the grass outside; it turned out to be the accomplice who had ambushed Peiganbo just now. He said, "Old Niu was right. Since that human brat has a god backing him, catching Peiganbo won't be such a simple matter."

"Stinking loach, you had a part in this too. Why didn't you think of some way to stop Peiganbo just now?" Ishir thumped her magic staff against the ground, looking very angry.

"Go to hell." The orc called Stinking Loach slowly showed himself, holding a dagger in his hand, its blade still stained with blood. Niu Dacheng exhaled with a "whoosh" and cursed, "Dead loach