Run! We'll Hold Them Off

Traveler's Respite, underground.

Two Dragon People pounced from hidden corners on the left and right, but the tall man stood motionless behind the dust and smoke. With a downward press of his hand, he seized their heads, then slammed them heavily together before they could react.

He released them, and the Dragon People's corpses turned into black mist, sinking into the churning dust below.

Maza k did not even spare them a glance as he walked forward. Smoke and dust parted around his thick legs and receded behind him. Shadows surrounded the stifling, cramped space. Tall, cold stone statues stood in alcoves along both sides of the passage, each in a different form, yet all clad head to toe in armor, swords planted against the ground, their hollow gazes fixed ahead with an ancient remoteness that seemed to predate the time they had been erected.

At the end of the passage stood a stone platform. A stone-carved sword lay flat atop it, roughly four feet long and a palm wide. The gems on its hilt, guard, and pommel had been carved in exquisite detail.

Mazak stopped beside the stone platform. Shayek, slightly hunched, emerged from the side and respectfully approached it. Bending down, he blew the dust from the platform with a puff, then gently gripped the sword's hilt and turned to look at Mazak.

The man, imposing as a giant tower, silently nodded.

Only then did Shayek press the gem on the stone sword's pommel. The gem rotated inward and sank, and a crack opened in the stone wall ahead with a creaking sound. Within was a shallow niche, where a sharp sword rested at an angle.

A brilliant beam of light fell across Mazak's face.

He walked around the platform and removed the sword, the small bronze rings on the braid behind his head jingling softly.

The blade forged from Fey Silver seemed to emit its own glow in the darkness. Thin as a feather, it gleamed with cold light. Its design was nearly identical to the stone sword outside the niche, but along its spine was a beautiful line of stylized Nifurvin script:

'Sleep with dragons, hide with stars; rise with the moon, shine with fire—the beloved of the fey, Galapeya.'

He held the sharp sword and turned around.

As if in fear, the black mist scattered backward.

From afar, the travelers' camp had been completely swallowed by black smoke. The dark clouds slowly revolved like a massive vortex, with the inn at its center like an isolated island.

Big Sis stood atop a dirt mound, watching the scene. She spat the grass stem from her mouth, then stamped her foot.

A fellow Fang Heng had seen during the day stood nearby with a miserable expression. "Big Sis, I think we should forget it. I heard that both the Silverwood Spear and the Taboris Knight Order are here tonight. And now it's turned into this. I don't think we should wade into these muddy waters."

"Look, look, look at my ass," Big Sis snapped as she turned around and jabbed his forehead with a pointed finger, poking him until he staggered back and forth. "So I died for nothing? Just thinking about it makes me mad. You lot ran pretty damn fast today, didn't you? How come I never noticed you were such good runners? I've really been wasting my time taking care of you people."

The man clutched his head and said aggrievedly, "But wasn't that what you said yourself, Big Sis? You said that if you got taken out, the rest of us should run as soon as possible, because staying behind would just mean feeding ourselves to them for nothing."

"You took something I said offhand seriously, huh? Then if I tell you to die, why don't you go die?"

The three of them huddled together like shivering quail, not daring to say another word.

After venting her anger, she seemed less upset. She looked toward another person beside her—a Chosen assassin wearing a shirt, vest, and bowler hat. A pair of green-lensed goggles rested on the brim, while a mask completely covered his nose and mouth, leaving only a pair of narrow eyes lined with crow's feet visible.

"Besides, who do Silverwood Spear and the Taboris Knight Order think they are? Dragonfire isn't afraid of them either, right, Twenty?" she asked.

The Chosen assassin carried a Kingfisher Beta RE Magic Furnace of around level thirteen on his back. With his head lowered, he was intently carving the stick in his hand into some bizarre shape with a dagger. Only after hearing Big Sis did he give a perfunctory nod.

The dagger in his hand was enormous. The multidirectional stabilizing gears on its guard and the emerald crystal set in its quillon proved that it was Battle Gear—the Isauron Dexterous Dagger.

Few people used Battle Gear for woodcarving, especially not a man with so little artistic talent. What he had carved was rather hard on the eyes. But at that moment, he suddenly lowered his hand, raised his head, and said in a muffled voice, "Someone's coming."

Everyone froze—

A distant clattering sound reached them, like a large number of wooden structures collapsing. They looked up and saw a stretch of rooftops east of Traveler's Respite cave in one after another, collapsing and breaking apart amid billowing dust.

Big Sis opened her mouth wide and stared blankly. "What the hell is that? Did Silverwood Spear and the Taboris Knight Order cause this? Do they really think Mazak won't kill people?"

"Big Sis, look! Someone's escaping from under the dust!" Someone sharp-eyed suddenly shouted, "He's coming this way! Should we go 'help' them?"

Big Sis paused, about to nod. She clearly had no psychological burden whatsoever when it came to the well-practiced job of helping others. As for moral pressure—what was that?

But the man from before suddenly said, "Huh? Isn't that Etila's group?"

Big Sis's expression stiffened at the name. She immediately raised her spyglass and looked in that direction. After twisting the brass casing to adjust the magnification, she indeed saw Fang Heng and the others. Grinding her teeth, she said, "What a stroke of luck. It really is those bastards!"

She lowered the spyglass, sharply drew her rapier, and pointed it in that direction. "Time for revenge. Stop them!"

Fang Heng's group was hurriedly fleeing from the back entrance.

Under the cover of her maid, the blonde girl had been running at the very front of the group ever since leaving the door, one hand lifting her skirt and the other carrying a suitcase. But she suddenly stopped, raised her head, and watched the darkness ahead with wary pale-blue eyes.

With a loud bang, a burst of fire bloomed in the darkness.

A rifleman holding a long gun fired first. A conical lead bullet spun toward Sylvid, about to strike the seemingly helpless girl in the chest. But at that moment, a hand reached in from the side. The bullet struck that arm, trailing a long spray of sparks before flying off somewhere unknown.

Shesta stepped forward, alertly shielding her mistress behind her. A long tear had opened in the ruffled sleeve with white lace trim on her outstretched left arm. Beneath the scorched cloth, the faint gleam of metal could be seen.

But everyone's attention was immediately drawn to the fire in the darkness, so no one noticed that detail.

Hong Ye ran out from the swirling dust behind them. When she saw the attackers' attire, she was so angry her hair nearly stood on end—their outfits were typical of the Jefflitte Redcoats. The long white feathers on their tricorne hats swayed slightly in the night wind, an almost perfect imitation.

But where would Jefflitte Redcoats come from in a place like this?

Of course, she recognized them. "Have you gone insane? You even dare attack members of the Taboris Oak Knights?"

Only then did the rifleman who had fired notice there were people behind them. Startled, he turned around. "Big Sis, that woman looks like Hong Ye. She's from the Taboris Oak Knights."

"Who the hell do the Taboris Oak Knights think they are?" Big Sis rolled her eyes and shouted, "Fire!"

A volley of gunshots answered Hong Ye.

She was so furious she nearly fainted on the spot. Raising her hand, she formed seven or eight Shining Fields before her into a massive hexagonal formation. The lead bullets struck them in a rapid patter, creating only ripples.

She pointed forward again, preparing to counterattack.

But Fang Heng ran up from behind and pressed down her hand. He had already recognized the group they had encountered during the day and immediately realized they had likely come for him and Etila.

But that clearly was not the important matter right now. He turned and exchanged a glance with Etila.

She had clearly recognized them as well and mouthed to him, "Charge through."

Fang Heng had reached the same conclusion. He nodded lightly, then turned back to Hong Ye. "Miss Hong Ye, these people aren't much of a threat!"

Hong Ye came to her senses as well. Remembering that the real threat was behind them, she realized that compared to it, the people in front of them were not worth mentioning. She angrily waved a fist and shouted in that direction, "If you don't want to die, get lost!"

The two sides were not far apart.

Big Sis had clearly seen Hong Ye's gesture, and her face twitched.

Though the Taboris Oak Knights held considerable influence in the First World, they were not well known in the Second World. Moreover, Free Guilds often lacked real-world foundations, so she had not taken them very seriously.

She had attacked many people around Elpaxin under the name of the Jefflitte Redcoats, but few knew that her group was actually part of Dragonfire. Dragonfire was on roughly equal footing with the Taboris Oak Knights in Aethelria, but at least it was a guild backed by real-world corporations and clubs—

Enraged by that gesture, she simply drew her Hand Cannon and fired at them. The shot seemed to be a signal, and the riflemen lying in ambush outside the inn all opened fire, countless flashes spinning from their rifled barrels in the darkness.

"Transfer control of the Shining Fields to me," Fang Heng said through the aether network.

Hong Ye nodded.

Fang Heng stopped and spread both hands to either side.

The sight was practically miraculous—

Before everyone's eyes, centered on the silver-masked youth in the middle of the battlefield, three slowly rotating Annihilators and twelve Shining Fields stretched from left to right across the entire battlefield.

As rainbow light flickered, every time one appeared, it blocked a bullet.

For a moment, Dragonfire's riflemen were stunned, nearly forgetting to fire. Big Sis had fought Fang Heng before, but she did not recognize him at once.

Holding up her Hand Cannon, she did not know whether she should continue firing.

That level of spatial judgment and calculation was enough to reveal many things. A Tier 3 artificer class, a Creator?

Was that his backing?

But she had clearly misunderstood what it meant.

And the consequences of that misunderstanding would naturally be far more serious than encountering a Combat Artificer in his thirties—

Just as the battlefield fell into a dreadful silence, the ground beneath them suddenly trembled slightly, and a massive ripple spread across the swamp water.

Dragonfire's members instinctively looked up.

Through the dust ahead, a pair of jagged gray wings suddenly emerged. Their tips slowly rose—nearly reaching the inn's highest point—before sweeping down gently.

Dust rolled outward in all directions, reaching the water's edge and immediately raising a white wave across the swamp. The waves churned toward them, and the fierce wind rushed into their faces, tossing everyone's hair.

It continued backward, making the mangroves behind them rustle loudly.

The assassin pressed down his hat as well.

"What the hell is that!?" someone shouted into the wind.

But he could not continue shouting. As the enormous wings pressed down, the wind pressure lifted that colossal creature sharply into the air. It turned in midair, spread its wings, and revealed its true form.

Four corners on its wings, eyes like molten fire, four claws hanging naturally below, black scales layered across its belly as if forged from steel. With a sweep of its long tail across the inn, it sheared away half the roof, and the inn's entire spire collapsed with a thunderous crash.

Fang Heng's scalp tingled. This thing had grown considerably since they had first encountered it. It was now nearly three stories tall.

He turned around and saw Wu Di and Liuli Yue, who had been assigned to cover the rear, scrambling out of the smoke. Liuli Yue stared at the sight before him for a moment. "What's going on now?"

"No time to explain! Run!" Fang Heng covered his ears and charged forward with his head down.

He did not really need to remind them. Everyone who had escaped the inn was deeply aware of the situation. Following his example, they covered their ears and sprinted forward. Some Dragonfire members had not yet reacted and instinctively wanted to fire upon seeing them flee—

But at that moment, the giant dragon spread its wings in midair and suddenly let out a long roar.

The terrifying dragon roar made every unprepared Dragonfire member clutch their ears. Their vision went black, and they collapsed to their knees. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Fang Heng's prepared group had already splashed through the water and fled rapidly in another direction.

When Big Sis opened her eyes, that was exactly what she saw.

She immediately raised her Hand Cannon and aimed at the fleeing Etila.

But someone fired before she could.

It was the first rifleman who fired, but his target was not Fang Heng's group. In his extreme terror, he had directly fired at the giant dragon in the air.

"Don't fire!" The assassin beside Big Sis felt his heart jolt and could not help shouting.

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

That shot was like an opening signal. Everyone began pulling their triggers at the dragon in the sky, as uninterrupted golden-red flashes bloomed. Empowered by the immense magic of their Core Crystals, countless lead bullets spun out like raindrops, striking the dragon's chest and head and producing showers of sparks.

But in the end, they did not even leave a white mark.

Only moments later did Dragonfire's members realize what a foolish thing they had done. "A-a Leader-class Monster?" Amid their stammering gasps, the Dark Dragon slowly lowered its head, strange light flickering in its golden-red pupils.

"Get down!"

Wu Di, who had already run far away, saw the scene and shouted a warning to everyone.

Fang Heng was not the fastest, but he was not slow either. He threw himself forward just as the wind pressure from the dragon's wings swept across behind him, whipping violently at his robe. A huge shadow passed over everyone's heads and plunged with a boom toward the dirt mound where Dragonfire's people stood.

The entire ground jolted.

Fang Heng was thrown directly off the ground and slammed into a nearby rock. His health instantly dropped by more than a quarter. Stars swam before his eyes from the impact, but he endured the pain and looked up in that direction, where he indeed saw a cloud of dust.

Dragonfire's members were scattering and fleeing through the dust.

But it was completely meaningless.

With one sweep of its tail through the smoke, the dragon could send several people flying. As for Big Sis, she had already vanished from sight. Whether she was dead or alive was unknown.

Most likely, she was doomed.

I overestimated when I'd be back, wow, how tragic. But there probably won't be much going on after tomorrow. I'll try to get the update schedule back to normal tomorrow morning. Thank you, thank you~