Chapter 10: Failure at the Last Moment

A scream came from the woman as she rushed toward a large tree in the distance. Seeing this, Rod became furious and could only watch helplessly as the man fled into the distance. He rushed toward the woman, realizing she was also a frail magician—she would surely be badly injured if she hit that tree.
In a flash, he arrived in front of her, wrapped his arms around her just as she was about to crash into the tree, thus stopping her fall.
“Wait for me here!” Before the woman could recover from her shock, Rod set her down and spoke firmly before turning to chase after the man.
His first thought was to stop this scoundrel from causing further harm. He had seen him do evil twice, always the same kind of crimes—this was beyond tolerance!
With murderous intent, Rod pushed his speed to its limit, moving swiftly through the forest. Soon, he spotted the man’s back, less than a hundred meters away!
Feeling Brado following close behind, the man’s scalp tingled with fear, yet anger burned within him. That damned Brado—since he arrived in Iron Bar Town, he had committed crimes twice, both ruined by Brado, who had even cost him several comrades! Now he was alone, and it seemed Brado was determined to pursue him relentlessly. If caught, things would get troublesome.
From their last encounter, it was clear he was no match for Brado. That monstrous move still gave him chills when he thought about it.
“Bastard!” he cursed inwardly, feeling a chill down his spine. His teeth clenched in rage and fear.
He could sense Brado getting closer by the second. It wouldn’t be long before he was caught. In this forest, the man felt like crying without tears.
Yet, just then, a figure appeared ahead, giving him a glimmer of hope!
That damned woman—everything started with her. Now he ran into her again; it seemed Brado was brought by her as well. He had seen her before outside.
With a cold smile, he changed direction and rushed full speed toward her.
……

As the distance grew shorter and it seemed he was about to catch up with the guy, Rod didn’t relax at all. Fifty meters, thirty meters—before long, the distance was less than twenty meters. He couldn’t let this guy get away. The last time he had fought him, he had used two of his signature moves, “Shadowless” and “Autumn Wind.” The guy had seen them all, and he had even called out Rod’s name as soon as he saw him. Clearly, this guy had done some research on him. Fortunately, he still didn’t know Rod’s true identity. But if he let him escape again, things would get complicated! If that guy used those two moves to expose Rod’s identity, the consequences would be unimaginable. For such a scumbag, Rod had no hesitation—he had to kill him right there, leaving no room for future problems.

Yet, just as Rod closed in to within twenty meters of the man, an unexpected scene unfolded. Somehow, that girl, Shirley, had appeared over there, right in front. The man seemed to have seen her as well and suddenly turned to chase after her!

“Damn it!” Rod cursed inwardly. Shirley’s arrival seemed to have changed the situation. The man clearly saw her as a new hostage target. If that was the case, it would be difficult for him to kill the man today.

“Ah…” A cry of shock came through—Shirley’s voice. This slow-reacting guy finally noticed Brado and the man’s presence.

But it was too late. The man had already rushed to her side. Before Shirley could react, he wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close, and turned his right hand into a claw, gripping her throat to stop her from moving!

Panting heavily, Rod stared at Brado, who stood across from him, looking coldly at him. He felt a dryness in his throat and swallowed hard. He said to Brado, “Stop right there! Or don’t blame me if I become ruthless. You don’t want to die at my hands because of her, do you? Oh, by the way, it seems you know this little troublemaker well. How about this? Let her go, and I promise not to hurt her. Let her accompany me out of this forest, and we’ll stay out of each other’s way from now on.”

The man panted as he tried to negotiate with Rod.

“Let her go!” Ignoring his words, Rod glared at the man with a murderous look and ordered coldly.

“Don’t worry, as long as you stop chasing me, I definitely won’t hurt this girl!” With a cold sneer and after catching his breath, the man said indifferently. Then, he exerted force, causing Shirley to scream as she was slowly dragged deeper into the trees. On the other side lay a dense forest, whose terrain was far more complex than the small grove they were in now. It was a desolate place with thick forests and treacherous, changing landscapes. Once he got into the forest, it wouldn’t be easy for that guy to continue chasing him.

Watching Shirley hesitate, her throat squeezed shut and struggling to breathe with her face turning red, Rod didn’t dare make any further moves. At this moment, if the man exerted more force, Shirley would be finished!

He couldn’t use the same trick again—even a fool wouldn’t fall for it. He could only follow closely behind the man, slowly approaching while looking for an opportunity.

“Stay right there! Hmph, don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do. If you come any closer, I really won’t hold back. Then you can just wait to bury this brat!” Seeing Rod continuing to follow him, the man grew anxious. With a loud shout, he exerted more force, causing Shirley to cough. Strangled and held in the man’s arms, she couldn’t struggle or move. The pain in her throat prevented her from speaking, her face red with effort. Though filled with hatred, she dared not move. Feeling the warmth of the man’s body sent shivers down her spine.

Gritting her teeth in anger, she was unable to move. She wasn’t a fool—she knew that if she tried to resist now, her throat would be crushed instantly. Looking at Brado across from her with tears in her eyes, Shirley placed all her hope on him. It reminded her of the last time—she had been held captive then too, and it was he who saved her. Would it be the same this time? She believed so.

“Okay, let her go. I’ll let you go!” Standing still, Rod’s expression changed as he pondered for a moment before shouting firmly.

“That’s right. I said I wouldn’t kill this brat. Don’t worry, I just want her to follow me for a while!” Seeing Rod stop, the man smiled satisfactorily and headed recklessly into the forest.

Standing there, Rod could only move slowly. As the distance between them grew, he was anxious but helpless. Filled with rage and a desire to kill, he dared not take any action.

In the blink of an eye, the man reached a densely wooded area. At that moment, he smiled slightly and glanced back at the forest. Even under the scorching sunlight during the day, it still appeared dim and gloomy. Having been untouched by the sun for years, the damp woods emitted a faint musty smell.

“Hehe, little girl, I’ll find you to play with when I have time. Not today!” After walking some distance into the forest, he glanced at the Labrador about a hundred meters away and smiled satisfactorily. Then, with a reckless grin, he threw Shirley like a sandbag, just as he had done to that woman before! After that, he turned and ran wildly into the woods, his expression cold.

“This isn’t over!” he shouted at himself in his mind. How could he just let go of Labrador, the guy who had nearly killed him twice?

Seeing Shirley thrown away and hearing her screams, Rod rushed over immediately. As Shirley flew toward him, he quickly grabbed her. Due to inertia, even Rod stumbled back several steps before managing to steady himself.

He was about to put Shirley down and chase after the man when the man’s figure had already disappeared. They could only rely on the direction and traces left behind to follow him. Though the chances were slim, Rod really didn’t want to let this beast go.

“No, I’m scared!” Just as he was about to rush out, he felt someone hug him tightly, clinging to him like a koala. Then he heard Shirley’s slightly trembling voice, tinged with sobs.

Looking down at Shirley, who was hugging him tightly, looking pitiful with tears in her eyes and an expression of helplessness and fear, Rod sighed. He knew that beast had escaped again. He stopped and patted her head: “You still know how to be scared? Didn’t you say you wanted to come in alone? Hehe, look at yourself—aren’t you afraid of being laughed at? It’s okay now!” Having never comforted anyone before, Rod didn’t know how to comfort her properly. After saying those words, he stroked her back, feeling her warmth, but his heart trembled.

It would have been fine if he hadn’t comforted her. But now that he had, she couldn’t take it and started sobbing, “I hate that man so much! Ugh, who asked you to comfort me? If you hadn’t abandoned me, would I have gone through this? Get away! I don’t want your comfort!”

With that, she pushed Rod aside, pouted, and let two streams of tears slide down her cheeks as she stood across from him, just staring at him.
“Are you still angry? If I hadn’t left first, that woman would have been bullied by that beast, you know that? You don’t want to see that either, right? Okay, stop being childish and go check on that woman quickly—we don’t know what’s happened to her!” She grabbed Shirley’s hand and patted his head. Rod smiled bitterly, realizing he had still been seen as the villain.
“I’m not going. If you want to go, go by yourself. Since you care so much about others, go ahead then. Otherwise, they might get scared. Who knows if we’ll run into other bad guys? It wouldn’t be good if they got hurt. Then I’d become a sinner for all time! I’m ignoring you—go ahead! It’s not the first time you’ve left me here alone! You’ve done it before too! Just let me be bullied by others here!” She pouted and shook off Rod’s hand in anger.