Chapter 654: The mysterious mark
His stamina felt as though it had been sucked dry by a vacuum pump. The battle had not seemed particularly long, yet it had exhausted every ounce of strength in his body. Even now, his ears were ringing faintly.
His heart was still pounding, and he wheezed like a broken bellows.
Riva noticed the faint light on his hand, as though a glowing fireball had come to life.
In the distance, old Pisiri and the dozen or so other Nanming were still stunned. Their expressions even looked a little dazed, as though they were dreaming.
"Old man Pisiri, did I see that right? He... defeated the Giant Monsters?"
Old Pisiri looked equally horrified, his mouth still hanging open. At those words, he added blankly,
"Four of them!"
Shock-utter shock and astonishment. Their bewilderment came from having everything they knew overturned, but there was also the reassurance that their lives were now safe.
The children sheltered among the women and able-bodied adults, however, looked wildly excited. If not for the adults' strange expressions, they would probably have started cheering already.
Youyi reacted faster than anyone else. She climbed straight down from the tree she had leaped into to hide and rushed toward Riva.
"Hahahahaha! Riva, you're incredible! You did it!"
Her delighted laughter rang out as she ran, her long hair streaming behind her, "waking" everyone.
Riva felt Youyi throw her arms around him. His exhausted body, already on the verge of collapse, swayed back and forth as she shook him. The others cautiously gathered around as well.
"Owww! Youyi, easy! That hurts!"
Now the intense pain from the wound behind his shoulder was becoming ever clearer.
"Oh, sorry! Let me bandage you up! Does anyone have clean cloth strips and medicine?"
Youyi addressed the first