Chapter 187: Escape!
The enemy’s strength far exceeded Rod’s expectations. He never imagined that his two most powerful moves, “Shadowless” and “Autumn Wind,” would pose no threat to them at all, which filled him with shock.
In just a short period of combat, under the enemy’s full-force attacks, Rod already had several wounds. Combined with his old wounds that hadn’t healed yet, they quickly reopened in such intense fighting. In an instant, his body was covered in blood.
The whistling sound of the whip was terrifying, and groans could be heard from time to time—each groan signaling a new wound on Rod’s body.
“Damn it!” Feeling the searing pain all over his body, Rod cursed inwardly. The situation was critical; under the enemy’s pressure, he couldn’t find any opening. The black-clad female assassin’s attack methods were astonishingly powerful and covered a wide range, encircling him completely. If things continued like this, he would be worn to death by her. He couldn’t rely on those city guards who only knew how to eat and do nothing. They might be good at bullying ordinary people and the weak, but they were utterly unreliable in such a situation.
The only option now was to summon Furnace Sky. Although he knew it might not be very effective and could easily expose his identity, there was no other choice. In a crisis, he had to take a risk.
As Rod’s mind sent the command, a loud howl soared into the sky, and a deep red light rushed upward. The figure of Furnace Sky gradually appeared.
“Hehe, little brother, that long snake is quite nice. Where did you get it? Tell your sister, and she’ll go catch one to play with someday!” Seeing Rod summon his beast soul, Nightingale’s expression changed instantly, turning serious.
They naturally knew about Knight Rod having a beast soul. Even though Rod had only used it once, it was enough for many people to remember it!
Although they hadn’t seen him fight alongside his beast soul, they heard it was incredibly powerful, especially in terms of defense. Moreover, they heard that he had defeated Ser from the Wind God Academy, who had risen to the imperial rank, with the help of his beast soul.
This situation forced Nightingale to take it seriously and reassess the opponent’s strength, adopting new attack strategies.
Ahow… With another howl, Furnace Sky took the lead at Rod’s signal and attacked Nightingale first. A red light flashed, turning into a sharp beam that shot straight at Nightingale’s chest!
In an instant, Nightingale felt a scorching gust of air approaching her. Before the beast soul could get close, a fire spell was cast first—a fireball the size of a human head heading straight for her head. With a cold snort, she was forced to pause her attack temporarily. With a flash, she dodged the small fireball. Glaring at the floating Furnace Sky in the air, her eyes were icy and terrifying, as if it wanted to devour her. “Shadow Sword!” A loud shout snapped her out of her thoughts. In that brief moment, Rod had already broken free from its grasp. Without wasting time, he cast the Shadow Sword again! At the same time, Furnace Sky also arrived in front of Nightingale, trapping her in place and forcing her to divert her attention, thus giving Rod a perfect opportunity. Ten figures appeared instantly, targeting Nightingale. The Dark Dragon in their hands emitted a low humming sound, clearly excited, as if it had its own consciousness. “Damn it!” With a fierce curse, Nightingale had no choice but to temporarily push back Furnace Sky before swinging her long whip at several figures around her. This silver-white whip seemed to be the nemesis of Rod’s Shadow Sword, as it managed to defeat several figures in just a short time. “Kill!” A roar came from above. A cold smile appeared on her lips—the plan had succeeded. The most important thing about using the Shadow Sword this time wasn’t to harm the opponent, as Rod knew such a possibility was slim. His main goal was to create an opportunity for Furnace Sky. Sure enough, at the moment Nightingale couldn’t pay attention, Furnace Sky straightened up and descended like a sharp sword, aiming straight at her. With attacks from both above and below, the situation was turned around, allowing her to escape danger while causing Nightingale a lot of trouble. The Shadow Sword stopped abruptly, followed by the autumn wind. The cold wind howled, leaves fluttered, dust flew, and the stalls along the streets turned into ruins. Even the store doors were in terrible condition, with many completely destroyed. This caused great pain to the shop owners watching from hiding. Faced with attacks from both sides, Nightingale didn’t dare be careless. She quickly retreated at full speed, then, before Knight Rod and his beast soul could reach her, she swung her long whip to create a solid defensive wall around herself. At that moment, the usefulness of the long whip became evident—it could be used for both offense and defense.
Seeing this, Rod flashed a smile of triumph, let out a long howl, quickly retracted Furnace Heaven, and then, before Nightingale could react, he turned around and dashed backward with all his might. The Mercenary Association was just on the next street—Rod was well aware that once they reached there, the others would never dare to pursue them, otherwise they would face severe punishment. Fighting was strictly forbidden inside the Mercenary Association, and besides, how could it be possible that there were no strong fighters there? Even if someone tried to cause trouble, they could handle it.
All the previous attacks had been mere distractions. The plan had taken shape in Rod’s mind the moment he summoned Furnace Heaven, and it quickly matured. First, he would use Furnace Heaven to fend off the enemy’s attacks, then launch a feint to force them into a defensive stance, and finally take the opportunity to escape while they were focused on defense. It was a simple plan, yet it succeeded at this moment.
Rod knew well that even with Furnace Heaven’s help, the enemy might be momentarily flustered, but once they regained their composure, everything would turn upside down, leaving him in another precarious situation.
This was why he chose to flee. Moreover, the best hiding place was right nearby—it would be foolish not to use it.
“Damn you! Don’t think you can get away!” Only now, upon seeing Rod’s actions, did Nightingale realize she had been deceived. Filled with shame and anger, she had carried out so many assassination attempts yet never encountered such a cunning opponent.
Those she had met before either fought to the death or showed signs of fleeing from the start—they would never hide so well. How could she have expected to meet someone like this?
Seeing the direction Rod was fleeing, she grew even more anxious. Ahead was the Mercenary Association. If their target got inside, it would be impossible to chase after them again. While she fought Rod here, the Mercenary Association might be aware, but they would definitely not interfere. As for those mercenaries, they weren’t any better— they wouldn’t get involved in such trivial matters. But once inside, things would be different. Not to mention the rules of the Mercenary Association, even the guards there would never allow her to disrupt their peace.
With a flushed face and anger, she unleashed her combat energy to pursue Nightingale at full force. At this moment, she finally began to worry, regretting her carelessness, and also feeling a hint of agreement with what Crow had said earlier. Crow had originally opposed their plan to carry out this mission today; even after being persuaded, he still objected to doing it so close to the Mercenary Association, inside the capital itself. But her firm rejection led to the awkward situation they were in now. The sound of the wind grew louder, rushing past swiftly as the buildings on both sides retreated rapidly. There wasn’t a single person in sight. Clearly, Rod knew that everyone in the vicinity had taken cover due to his fight with Nightingale. The sound of something cutting through the air grew louder behind him, filling him with anxiety. His opponent was stronger than him and also faster. If not for his own speed being beyond what his current level allowed, he would have already been caught by now. Feeling the approaching sound, Rod grew anxious. Thankfully, he had strong mental resilience; otherwise, he doubted he could keep running. The Mercenary Association was just a hundred meters ahead, with its prominent sign. Seeing it, Rod felt relieved—almost there. Once inside, he would be safe. As for Viski, Kiro, and the girls, there was no need to worry. Their main target was him, so they probably wouldn’t spend much time on them. He could meet up with them later after getting rid of this annoying woman. Yet, those mere hundred meters seemed as distant as tens of thousands of light-years to Rod. Under the immense pressure from both his mind and body, it felt incredibly far away. “Huhuhu…” A dull whooshing sound came—his opponent’s whip. It seemed to be right behind his head. He even felt a dull numbness and pain at the back of his head. Without hesitation, he rolled like a donkey to dodge the attack, then continued to run forward. The revolution wasn’t yet successful—comrades still had to work hard. He couldn’t slack off now, or everything would be lost. Those few dozen meters could become his last stand, and he certainly didn’t want that to happen.