Chapter 107: What I Owed, I Return to You

“Rod, what are you talking about!” Rod’s words caused Kiro’s expression to change drastically.
“No, didn’t we just say that?” Alice also shouted in anger.
“Idiot, stop talking nonsense and get out of the way!” Seeing that the Battle Bear was about to attack this jerk, and he still had the nerve to talk instead of dodging, Anderson couldn’t help but curse loudly.
“Go! This is all I can do. Heh, consider it paid back to you!” With a faint, grim smile, Rod shouted loudly before leaping up from the ground and rushing at the Battle Bear.
Using a quick roll, he dodged one of the Bear’s attacks and ended up behind it. He then swiftly climbed up, reaching its back in no time. Lying there, he thrust his sword forward with all his strength.
*Thud…* A sound came from behind the Bear—the Dark Dragon pierced its back, but only penetrated less than five centimeters. Even with a full-force strike and the sharpness of the Dark Dragon, it only went that deep, showing just how thick the Bear’s flesh was.
“Roar…” The Bear went berserk. It had been too careless while tormenting those humans earlier, underestimating them as too weak to warrant a full effort. But that carelessness got it injured.
That’s right. The enemy had dodged its casual attack, circled around to its back, and launched a strike. Fortunately, its earth-based defense magic was activated in time, along with its thick hide, preventing serious injury. But this was still unforgivable—hurting it, these humans were utterly guilty.
“Idiot, die!” Grasping the Bear’s fur with one hand, he retracted the Dark Dragon and started punching wildly at the Bear’s head and back, producing dull thudding sounds.
Kiro, Anderson, and the others watching from afar were even more stunned. What was this guy doing? Acting so recklessly on top of the Earth Bear—perhaps only he in this continent would do such a foolish thing. Punches? They were nothing but tickling for that beast!
“Silver Warrior!” Taking a deep breath, Kiro said in shock, realizing he had been too busy escaping and fighting to pay attention to Rod’s situation.
That silver-white combat energy—didn’t it prove that this guy had reached the rank of Silver Warrior?
“What? Silver Warrior!” Anderson and Alice exclaimed simultaneously upon hearing this, quickly looking over. Their expressions froze—indeed, the silver-white combat energy proved everything.

Silver Warrior? He’s actually reached this rank? I remember when they parted not long ago, this guy seemed to have just entered the ranks of Advanced Warriors, and just a few months ago he was still a Beginner Warrior. How could someone reach the level of a Silver Warrior in such a short time? What’s going on? What kind of talent is this? It’s unimaginable. If one hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, no one would believe such a thing.

“Go quickly! What the hell are you guys doing? Still not leaving? Do you want to kill me? Hurry up! If you stay here, how am I supposed to escape? You guys are just in the way!” Rod shouted angrily, seeing that he was stuck fighting the Battle Bear while those bastards like Kiro still hadn’t left.

This was a rare opportunity. The Battle Bear was extremely strong and was struggling desperately to get rid of him by pulling himself off its back, jumping around wildly. Rod felt he couldn’t hold on much longer; he would soon be thrown off, and then all his chances would be lost.

“You!” Rod’s words made Anderson’s expression change as he prepared to retaliate.

“Idiot, come back quickly! Don’t you know that’s the only way you’ll die? Come back now!” Alice shouted loudly, her voice tinged with tears. At that moment, she even thought this guy was actually a pretty good person—just a bit of a scoundrel. Otherwise, he could have become her friend. As for the resentment and disgust she had before, she didn’t know where they had gone.

“Rod, you… you always surprise people like this!” Kiro murmured to himself, looking at Rod, whose face was red.

“Go quickly! Don’t worry about me. I have a way to escape. The old man taught me a method, but I can’t use it with you guys here. Hurry up! Once you’re far away, I can escape. Trust me!”

Seeing that the others were still hesitating and realizing he really couldn’t hold on any longer, Rod shouted loudly, holding his breath.

“Rod…”

“You bastards, go quickly! Don’t get in my way here! Don’t you know this could kill me? If you don’t leave, I can’t use that move. Hurry up!” Seeing them hesitate, Rod shouted urgently. There really wasn’t time left. Once he was thrown off, everything would be too late.

“Let’s go. Trust him!” After some hesitation, Kiro finally spoke up to Alice and Anderson beside him.

“But he…” Alice said worriedly, looking at Rod struggling on top of the Earth Bear.

“Don’t worry. Have you forgotten? He’s the disciple of that veteran—surely the veteran has taught him a lot. Rising to Silver Warrior in such a short time shows what—that it’s impossible without someone else’s guidance and help. No one has ever done this in ten thousand years. He said the veteran taught him life-saving techniques; he must be telling the truth. If we stay, we’ll only hinder him!” Anderson urged anxiously, holding back the stubborn Alice.

“Is that really true? Is it really like that?” Her expression softened as she looked at Kiro and Anderson with a puzzled gaze.

“Let’s go!” With a glance, Kiro lifted Alice and they quickly fled into the distance. Anderson followed closely behind. The three of them swiftly left Rod’s sight. They trusted Rod—he was someone who could create miracles!

“Rod, I’ll wait for you!” Rod shouted over his shoulder. In such dense forests, the three of them disappeared from Rod’s view in no time.

“Finally they’re gone? Kiro, this is what I owe you back!” Rod smiled faintly as he saw them leave.

Kiro had saved him twice before—once in the prison where Roger was torturing him, and once when the old man was killed. Though he never expressed his gratitude, Rod had always kept it in mind. He was someone who repaid kindness and avenged grievances. This time, it was his way of repaying Rod.

“Ah…” Just as he felt relieved, he lost his grip and was flung away by the Earth Bear, crashing into a large tree behind him. Rod couldn’t help but scream in pain.

Thud, thud, thud… Heavy footsteps echoed as the battle bear pursued them. It didn’t care about the other three fleeing humans. All its anger was directed at this human who dared to hurt it. This human had hurt it, done whatever it wanted on its back—enraging it enough to charge recklessly.

“Damn it!” Rod jumped up and ran swiftly in the opposite direction. He had no real life-saving techniques—just an excuse to get Kiro and the others to leave. What else was left for him to do? Rod knew his chances of survival were slim today.

He took three steps as if it were two, running faster and faster. Faced with death, his potential was fully unleashed as he raced deeper into the forest.

“Roar…” A furious roar came from behind. Suddenly, a massive earth wall appeared in front, blocking the path. The ground began to tremble, and countless thorns shot out one after another. The towering thorns, filled with murderous intent, forced Rod to constantly dodge.

These dodges, however, allowed the Earth Bear to get back in front of him once again, swinging a punch at Rod.

“Boom…” Rod rolled desperately to avoid the attack, but the punch struck the ground, causing a loud explosion and raising a cloud of dust. He quickly raised his hand—there was actually a large crater in the ground where the punch landed.

“Damn it!” Seeing the battle bear charging at him again, faster and faster, Rod realized he might not be able to dodge in time. In the face of those fierce bear paws, he was racing against death. One slight mistake, and death would take him to the cold abyss.

Autumn Wind Sword! His gaze turned cold—this was the only deadly move he could use. A swarm of sword shadows swept forward like autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves, targeting the battle bear.

Yet, it was all in vain. The battle bear fully unleashed its strength. How could Rod possibly attack it? And how could the earth magic, known for its unparalleled defense, be easily defeated? The Autumn Wind Sword only managed to tear through the earth wall but failed to harm the bear’s body, not even cutting a single hair.

The intense battle drove the mercenaries in the vicinity to flee far away. The battle bear’s roars and attacks scared them into staying away. Even the surrounding magical beasts fled under its oppressive presence, too afraid to approach.

At this moment, this area belonged to just the two of them! After countless failed attacks and desperate dodges, the Earth Bear finally seized its chance. A thorn pierced his left leg, causing him to stagger, before he was hit squarely by the bear’s massive paw.

Although the Dark Dragon in front of him blocked the blow, preventing it from hitting his body, the immense force still sent him flying over ten meters before he crashed into a large tree and landed heavily on the ground.

All his bones seemed broken, preventing him from getting up. Blood kept flowing, his internal organs were severely damaged, and his consciousness grew blurred. He could see multiple versions of the charging battle bear, unable to tell them apart.

His whole body felt as if it had been torn apart; it was truly impossible to stand up. Taking a deep breath, he swallowed the blood in his mouth and forced out a grim smile: “Is it all over? I’m not willing to give up… I really can’t accept this. Why am I so weak!” Subconsciously, Rod roared in frustration.