Chapter 37: Escape

Although they hadn’t spent much time together, Gorton knew very well how cruel Fad could be to those who failed. So when Liz suddenly joined the battle and blocked all the attacks that could have left Neo and Valentina seriously injured, Gorton’s first action was to issue a warning—to Black Knight Fad.

“It’s no longer a matter of face or position. Everyone has been tricked by these two scumbags! They had it planned all along!”

Amidst the shrill sound of tearing air, a blood-red hellflower bloomed in the sky, visible clearly even from 10 miles away.

Fad, who was directing the battle, saw this warning sign of danger and was both shocked and enraged. He immediately rode back, arriving within seconds. Over the wind, his orders came through: “You take command here for Erulus!”

It took less than a minute for Fad to return to Gorton’s side. Once he arrived, no matter how many more Liz, Neo, and Valentina there were, they could not escape defeat.

In Neo’s plan, the escape time was only 40 seconds—and that was with Fad present.

“Respected mighty one, I don’t know how to repay your selfless help. Yet, I still must shamelessly ask for your aid once again. Please block one attack at a critical moment, just once…” This was part of Neo’s brief conversation with Liz after rescuing the Druids of the Senmu tribe.

Now, Liz had done it—she had successfully blocked an attack that Neo and Valentina couldn’t fend off. Using those few seconds, Valentina had joined Neo, used her sword to drive back a demonized creature, and received one Life Wave from Neo. In that short time, Neo also transformed successfully and used the body of one of the demonized creatures to block two attacks from another. All of this happened while they were in full flight.

It was a reunion—and also another missed opportunity. But this time, the missed chance meant going their separate ways, which was also part of the original plan.

“Come back alive! You promised.”

“Trust me.”

With those brief words of farewell, Valentina, who wasn’t fast, continued northward. Her goal was to enter the castle and reunite with the people and the Druids of the Senmu tribe. As repayment for their rescue, those Druids agreed to help Neo cover the refugees’ escape along a nearly 10-kilometer-long underground route.

Neo’s escape route was even more difficult and complex. His first goal was a well located to the northeast of the castle.

Boom! With sparks of demonic light, Gorton’s second remote attack aimed at Neo was forced to be canceled due to Liz’s fierce counterattack. The system of the Seers was vastly different from the mainstream profession systems of this world. Although in terms of raw strength, Liz wasn’t much stronger than Gorton, in a direct fight, Gorton’s chances of winning were less than 30%.

Liz had ruined his plans, so Gorton was furious. But he knew what was important—“Chase Neo with all your might! Break his legs!”

Amid Gorton’s furious shouts, the Dark Claws, who had intended to reinforce him, rushed full force atNeo. Gorton himself avoided entangling with Liz, preferring to take hits passively while still charging towardNeo like an arrow. Liz stood in place, slashing repeatedly with her light blades, killing or wounding several Dark Claws. At the same time, her decoy guardians countercharged toward her, slashing wildly and unleashing energy arcs at full cost. Though these secondary attacks lacked the power and range of her light blade slashes, their high frequency and density made them effective. Mutants and demon servants could withstand them, but those who had been transformed could not. The Dark Claws were thrown into chaos, with several transformed beings killed or injured.

Boom! Gorton, charging head-on, roared as he swung his heavy sword, creating a dark red cloud of flames and mist—this was the Eternal Night Warrior’s unique combat technique, “Dark Blood Blast,” which not only delivered an energy blast but also carried a powerful corrosive curse. Although Liz’s decoy guardians barely managed to block the strike, their light dimmed significantly under the effect of the “Blood Corrosion Curse.” On the other side, Liz’s face paled instantly. Her decoy guardians were connected to her soul; if either was injured, the other suffered as well.

William led two demon servants, two mutants, and two transformed beings in pursuit of Valentina. One of the mutants, hearing Gorton’s orders, turned to chaseNeo instead. William cursed inwardly at their indecision, knowing it would only lead to failure. “Intercept!” he shouted in time.

To preventNeo from escaping, the Dark Claws set up multiple layers of defense, especially on the north side facing the castle. When the people of Watzburg fled, William realized this area might be used byNeo as a retreat, so he sent two extra teams to ambush there. Now targeting Valentina, he believed capturing her could forceNeo to surrender.

Yet no Dark Claw stepped in to intercept in time. William immediately realized the problem. “Be alert to ambushes!” he warned loudly as he ran.

Unfortunately, his followers weren’t as quick as him, especially the two transformed beings, whose reactions were slower. They fell victim to the traps—thorny nets suddenly appeared behind a house, catching one of them. The momentum of his run caused him to tumble over a dozen times before crashing into the stone wall of another building with a dull thud.

Another one was chasing across the roof when a thick thorn bundle shot through the roof, trapping him. Not only was he thrown to the ground, but the sharp thorns also left him bleeding profusely.

On the front, several druids suddenly appeared and unleashed “Nature’s Fury,” an energy attack that could carry various plant seeds, granting different secondary effects.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Even if “Nature’s Fury” missed its target, it still exploded at a certain distance, scattering itchy spores like dust over a wide area. William and the mutant had no time to dodge successfully.

“Achoo…” William was fine, but the shapeshifter was in terrible condition. His Dark Evil Combat ability had prevented him from being infected by most of the Itchy Spores, but there were still gaps. Most importantly, the sudden attack made him forget to hold his breath, resulting in a sneeze so forceful that he lost direction and fell behind instantly. In such a race against time, it was equivalent to being eliminated.

Valentina took the opportunity to successfully reunite with the druids and rushed into the castle. There were also druids inside, using their power to summon plants that wrapped around and sealed the closed doors. At the same time, other druids attacked William from loopholes and towers. It was precisely because of having to dodge these attacks that William missed the best chance to chase after Valentina.

On the other side, Neo’s method of escape better fit the concept of “fighting one’s way through.” The closest enemies to him were one shapeshifter and three demonized beings. He successfully captured the shapeshifter, who immediately lost consciousness and became nothing but a source of nourishment. Another demonized being was killed by Valentina, but the remaining two kept pressing close.

In the first few seconds, Neo charged desperately, at great risk, which allowed the two demonized beings to land frequent attacks, inflicting six wounds on him. However, they soon noticed a faint green glow on Neo’s body, and his wounds healed at a speed comparable to Vladimir’s before.

With his Wolf Clan bloodline and Life Wave, plus the gradual healing effect from the Death Vine, Neo had told Valentina that his advantage lay in his immortality—a claim that, from a certain perspective, wasn’t entirely exaggerated.

The Death Vine had actually been active in the battles between Red Ghosts and Blue Ghosts for a long time. With the help of Nancy and Thorn, Neo applied some of his newly acquired professional talents to the Death Vine, giving it selectable effects: 1. Absorb residual life force from corpses and transfer it to Neo; 2. Convert the absorbed life force directly into healing energy to boost Neo, a effect that didn’t overlap with any existing healing spells.

Seeing that their frequent attacks couldn’t stop Neo’s progress, the two demonized beings immediately changed tactics, switching to low-frequency, heavy attacks. They aimed to catch up to Neo first through rapid movement, then launch powerful and effective attacks to intercept him.

Neo threw the shapeshifter, now reduced to a pile of flesh, into the arms of the demonized being that launched the first attack. Using his cunning skills, he reached through the corpse and plunged his claw into the other being’s right chest—another instance of “life absorption”!

As its core was destroyed, the demonized being tried valiantly to counterattack but was successfully blocked by Neo. In a hurry, he tore apart the corpse of the shapeshifter and flung it like a piece of cloth to block the pursuit of the other demonized being.

By this time, the pursuit team led by Imotton had begun to coordinate more efficiently. Two shapeshifters sacrificed their speed to unleash Dark Evil Blade slashes from a distance to attack Neo, while the rest chased after him frantically.

Whoosh! Neo dodged one blade slash, but another was unavoidable. He used the newly acquired flesh shield to take the hit. Crack! The demonized being seemed to have been struck by an axe—its entire spine was split open, blood and flesh flying everywhere, its body almost completely severed.

The last demonoid close to Neo took the opportunity to pounce. Neo dodged its first claw, but the second one scratched his shoulder, tearing flesh and blood instantly. Seizing this chance, the demonoid swung its claws again while lunging with another claw, but Neo’s claws struck its chest first—third “life absorption”! More blades of light flew toward him, but Neo used the demonoid as a shield once more and rushed forward. Two more demonoids emerged from behind a house; they were part of the rear defense force, watching secretly for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack. However, Neo’s keen sense of smell and hearing made it difficult for them to ambush him. Realizing there were people behind the wall, Neo took advantage of the situation. When those two demonoids rushed out, he suddenly changed direction and pounced on one of them, not only avoiding danger but also taking control of the situation. In mid-air, Neo spun in a spiral, flipping upside down, and as he flew beneath the demonoid, he plunged his claws deep into its waist and ribs. After transforming into a werewolf, Neo’s strength soared, bringing him close to the level of a Level 6 warrior—his power truly showed then. Amidst screams, the demonoid was rolled forward by Neo. By the time Neo pulled back his bloody claws and continued to flee, the demonoid was already on the verge of death due to “life absorption” and the wounds to its ribs. *Thud!* “Ah…” With a pained scream, another demonoid trying to defend itself had half of its buttock and a thigh severed by a flying blade of dark evil light, sending it flying in a spray of blood. “What the hell, so stupid!” Imorton, who was chasing behind, was furious. The attack was meant for Neo, but Neo feigned an action, tricking the demonoid into ending up in the path of the blade attack and becoming its victim. Neo twisted and slipped behind a house, leaving the demonoids temporarily without a target and forcing them to chase desperately. But as a werewolf, Neo moved on all fours at incredible speed. In terms of speed alone, the Dark Claws had no advantage and were even slightly slower. *Boom!* Neo smashed through the door and rushed into the room. Two diagonal blades of dark evil light missed by a hair’s breadth, shattering the furniture inside. *Boom!* He broke through the wooden wall and escaped the room, far beyond the expectations of the other pair of demonoids responsible for rear defense. By the time they rushed in, Neo had already entered another large room, with the two demonoids following closely behind. The first one rushed in only to find the target not there, and just then the second one also entered, only to be attacked from the side by Neo. With a successful strike, his wolf claws firmly grabbed the back of the demonoid’s head. The demonoid ahead noticed something was wrong and immediately turned to swing its claws, but Neo was already completely hidden behind the second demonoid. Holding its head in one hand and its groin in the other, he shouted and lifted the hundreds-of-pounds demonoid, slamming it onto the one who had entered the room first. With a loud crash, the first demonoid was knocked to the ground. As it struggled to get up, Neo’s wolf claws pierced through the waist and abdomen of the demonoid with the grabbed head, then continued into the body of the first demonoid—“life absorption”!

The demonized creature below struggled desperately and howled, no longer caring for its comrades, swinging its claws wildly. Yet in short order, it lost all strength and collapsed dead…

“Surround it! Surround it!” In less than 10 seconds, Imorton arrived with a group of subordinates, including the two demonized creatures from the third group who had been defending ahead.

“Are you sure you didn’t see the target escape from this large room?”

“I swear on my head,” the two demonized creatures assured.

Within a short time, the large room was tightly surrounded—everywhere, on the walls and roof, dark minions filled the space.

“Damn it, keep some distance! Do you want the walls to collapse on you bastards and let him get away?” Imorton shouted angrily while signaling for four demonized creatures to sneak into the room through the doors and windows.

Meanwhile, the clone guardian rejoined Liz, who now had the ability to fly and soared away. This left Fad, who had rushed back trying to attack her, to sigh helplessly and vent his anger by cursing loudly, “Flies! Damn flies…” This was directed not only at Liz but also at the three Free Wing air knights from the earlier battle for the seeds of divine power.

After delivering a fierce blow to the clone guardian, Gorton continued his full-speed pursuit of Neo. As a level-10 professional, although running wasn’t his strongest skill, his speed was still among the fastest among the dark minions—though still slower than Fad’s. Thus, the two arrived almost at the same time, just as the four demonized creatures entered the room.

“No!”

“The target is gone!”

Imorton and the others heard the screams coming from inside the room.

“Search! Look for secret passages!” Gorton roared from outside.

Actually, there was no need for Gorton to shout—the four demonized creatures had already started searching.

At that moment, Imorton noticed the sign on the large house. “Watch out for the wine cellar!”

Sure enough, there was a wine cellar, its entrance concealed by Neo using the bodies of two demonized creatures, so it wasn’t discovered right away.

“The wine cellar leads to the house to the east.”

“Damn it!” The group of dark minions rushed toward the house to the east, while Fad slapped his mount, his Nightmare Warhorse charging forward and leaping straight onto the roof of the large house. “Over there! The target is over there!” Fad saw the figure running on all fours, dressed in tattered, blood-stained leather, with impressive giant claws.

The dark minions heading to the east house also confirmed that Neo had indeed escaped from there, with clear footprints in the snow as proof.

The dark minions continued their frantic pursuit.

“I see him! He jumped into that well,” one of the demonized creatures at the front shouted.

“You let Neo get away? I’ll skin you, Gorton!”

Fad’s threats made Gorton break into cold sweat. He rushed forward at full speed, becoming the leading pursuer. Reaching the well, he jumped in without hesitation.

Then…

Aah…

Thud!

Panicked screams echoed in the well. The well was 3 meters in diameter but over 50 meters deep. Jumping wasn’t the same as diving—Gorton had overestimated his ability.

“Idiot!” Fad rushed to the edge of the well and glanced down, cursing in anger. 50 meters wasn’t enough to kill Gorton, especially since there was water below, but injuries were inevitable. Fad’s eyes could pierce the darkness, and he saw, about 40 meters down, a figure carefully climbing down. Due to the angle, it was hard to see clearly, but it was almost certainly Neo.
“Chase!”
At Fad’s command, themagic servants andmagic transformers led by Imoton rushed downward first. Using wall-crawling skills and short jumps, they risked everything at high speed—covering over 10 meters in 3 seconds. By the time Neo jumped into the bottom of the well, Imoton was already less than 20 meters from the bottom.
“It’s time to prove yourself—jump!” Imoton gritted his teeth and jumped down.
“Damn! Turbulent currents!” Amid Imoton’s shouts, two or three moremagic servants followed his example.
As soon as these dark minions entered the water, their first task wasn’t to catch Neo but to fight against the strong currents.
At level 7, nothing was given for free—their battle-empowered claws could shatter stone and metal. Whether gripping the bottom or the rock walls, the reckless minions managed to secure themselves, though they were still swept away by the turbulent currents.
However, they realized they had the wrong target. Scuttling along the stone walls like scorpions wasn’t Neo at all, but a never-before-seen monster—with a face that kept changing…
Ah…
Screams rang out again from the bottom of the well, not just once…