Chapter 392: Unrested Pursuit

Time passed by second by second, and everyone’s anxiety grew. Half an hour slipped by in the blink of an eye, yet not a trace of Rod could be seen—no sign of him at all.
Inevitably, some people’s hopes plummeted to rock bottom. Many believed Rod must have died; otherwise, there would be some trace left.
Perhaps only Lucy still held onto hope, along with the members of the Reaper Scythe Squad. Even Merck’s face turned pale as he couldn’t believe Rod could have survived such an explosion—especially after searching for so long!
“Big brother!!” Sitting on the ground, Lucy stared blankly ahead, muttering to herself. At this moment, she felt a heart-wrenching pain. She wished she could search herself. She wouldn’t believe anyone saying Rod was dead unless she saw it with her own eyes. To her, until she saw it, it wasn’t true.
If it weren’t for worrying about Nightingale beside her, she would have rushed to the front long ago. For Nightingale’s sake, she had to control her emotions! She couldn’t let Nightingale worry and grieve with her.
But how could she hide this from Nightingale? Though her consciousness was growing blurred, she could still discern what was happening outside. After all, Rod was the most important person to her. She could forget anyone else, but she would never forget Rod’s safety.
“Rod… cough cough… is he okay?” Taking a deep breath, Nightingale asked in a faint voice. She had seen the explosion earlier and knew full well how powerful it was.
“He’s definitely fine. Don’t worry. Big brother will be back soon!” Lucy reassured her, hiding her own pain deep inside so Nightingale wouldn’t see it.
“Any findings?” Finally, after half an hour, everyone returned. Merck asked them.
“None!” Low answers came one after another, each making hearts sink deeper.
Merck’s frown deepened, and a hint of anger appeared on his face—a rare display of emotion.
“Could it really be…” Taking a deep breath, Merck hesitated, forced to face reality.
“That’s impossible. The leader can’t be hurt!” Though her voice was soft, it was heard by Viski and the others.

“But…” He wanted to say that they had searched the entire one-kilometer area without finding anything, and if not dead, then what else could it be, but in the end, he didn’t say it out loud. Because he saw the anger and murderous intent on Viski and the others’ faces.
“Let’s keep searching!” With a cold snort, they ignored Merk’s next words, casting a cold glance at those around them. Viski spoke to the group behind him, then turned and headed outside to continue the search—they still hadn’t given up.
“You guys…” Seeing Viski and the others angry, Merk grimaced, not knowing what to say. Would continuing the search really yield results? Not necessarily.
“Move aside!” Seeing several people blocking his path, Viski shouted rudely, radiating murderous intent, as if ready to fight at the slightest provocation.
His mood was already poor, and now it seemed to intensify further. These people also gave Viski and his group no favorable looks. The two sides stared at each other angrily, stuck in a standoff.
The atmosphere grew tense as both sides seemed on the verge of fighting, with hostility filling the air.
“Viski!” At this critical moment, when tensions were at their peak, a familiar voice rang out, touching everyone’s heart.
“Boss!” Viski, who had been full of murderous intent, and the members of the Death Scythe Squad turned with surprise!
“Big brother!” In the distance, Lucy cried out in joy.
“Rod!” Merk’s voice filled with delight.
A figure rushed swiftly from afar and appeared before everyone in an instant. He looked disheveled, his hair messy, his skin scorched, making it hard to look at. But none of this could hide his features—his sharp facial features and iconic armor—it was Rod. He was back. He appeared when no one dared to hope, miraculously showing up before them all.
“Kid!” Even the usually silent Supreme Elder spoke up to greet him.
“I’ve worried everyone!” Seeing everyone’s anxious expressions, Rod smiled sincerely. This sense of family was wonderful.
“Great, haha, great! It’s good that you’re back! As long as you’re fine!” Not giving Rod a chance to speak, Merk stepped forward and patted his shoulder. His worried heart finally settled, and he felt relieved all at once.

“Head! You’re finally back. Damn it, we thought you were…” Seeing Rod return, Viski and the others felt relieved. Thinking about their previous behavior, they felt somewhat ashamed and spoke awkwardly.
“Thought I was dead?” Rod looked at Viski with a laugh, unable to suppress his amusement. Indeed, he had been on the verge of death just moments ago—life and death lay within a hair’s breadth. If his actions had been even slightly slower, he might not have made it this far. It had been extremely dangerous.
At that moment, Rod’s thoughts seemed to be pulled back to the explosion earlier.
Back then, he had been focusing intently on one of the weakest opponents. After the battle, Rod realized that this person was only at the early stage of the Yin Huang realm. If there was a chance to succeed, it would definitely lie with him.
Thus, in a desperate situation, Rod placed all his hopes on him. At the moment of the explosion, as expected, the consciousnesses of several people did weaken slightly. Perhaps they never imagined that this slight weakness would bring hope to Rod.
At that instant, Rod’s long-suppressed combat energy erupted, allowing him to reach his maximum speed. At the critical moment, right when the opponent self-destructed, taking advantage of the fact that the explosion’s force hadn’t fully manifested, he rushed forward with all his might in the direction he had chosen earlier.
One could say he was lucky to actually make it out. The moment he broke free from the center of the explosion, he was still thrown far away by the immense force, landing over a kilometer away.
This was why Merk and the others’ searches had yielded no results—they never expected Rod to be able to dash a kilometer away so quickly, ignoring the momentum generated by the explosion.
Relying on his astonishing defensive capabilities, Rod managed to hold on. His combat armor, combat energy armor, and his own physical defenses combined to form a formidable triple defense. Even a strong opponent at the Yin Huang realm, attacking with full force head-on, might not be able to cause him much harm—let alone after Rod had escaped from the explosion’s center! So, he survived by sheer luck.

I wonder what would happen if those three who committed suicide found out about this outcome? I guess even if they didn’t die, they would be furious! Three lives sacrificed yet no desired result—one can only imagine how depressed they must be. Unfortunately, they won’t get to see this. Perhaps their only contribution was getting Gu Xun out.

But what about after that? Could Gu Xun really escape the trap set by Rod and the others? Locke and his group were already lying in wait on the road from Water Screen City to Ice City! It was impossible for him to reach Ice City so easily, especially since Rod had left a final, unexpected move.

After calming down, Rod fixed his gaze on Lucy and Nightingale. He took slow steps toward Nightingale, his brows tightly furrowed.

Merk and Viski behind him wisely remained silent, following closely behind.

“I’ve given her the pill. I hope, with its help, the effects of the Rainbow Ice Spirit can be maximized so she can get through this,” Merk said after taking a deep breath. The oppressive atmosphere was hard for him to bear, so after thinking for a moment, he spoke up.

Hearing his words, Rod paused briefly. “Thank you!” It was a simple sentence, but it carried so much meaning. Rod knew that no matter how Nightingale’s fate turned out, he owed Merk and the Black Phoenix clan a huge favor. Merk also understood that their relationship with Rod would grow even closer after this.

When he reached Nightingale, seeing her pale face and weak appearance, Rod felt a sharp pain in his heart. This was the first time he had seen such a weak Nightingale—she was so frail she might leave this world at any moment, and it was hard for Rod not to feel distressed.

“Big brother!” Lucy called out softly as Rod approached, her mood calming down a bit.

Rod nodded in response, then went straight to Nightingale and held her in his arms. “It’s okay, no need to speak. You’ll be fine!” His tone was firm and unwavering.

“I’m tired. I want to rest!” With a faint smile, Nightingale, who understood Rod, didn’t say much and simply spoke. Her voice was so weak that Rod could barely hear her.

“Okay, I’ll take you back now. Rest well. Once you sleep, everything will be fine tomorrow!” Rod nodded and said in a deep voice. He couldn’t bear to refuse her request, even though he knew it was best for her to stay alert at this time.

“Thank you!” Rod gently handed the nightingale to Lucy, his voice soft. After a moment of hesitation, his resolve hardened: “Wait for me. I’ll be back by tomorrow!” Turning to look into the distance, his tone was firm—this was his promise.
“Don’t worry!” Seeming to sense something, Lucy replied confidently without asking further questions.
“I’m leaving this to you, Viski. Protect the nightingale. I’ll head off now and be back by tomorrow!” Nodding, Rod turned to Viski and the others to give instructions—of course, these words were also meant for Merk.