Chapter 012: Deceptions

The two were stunned, unable to believe what they were seeing. With their current strength, all they could do was watch.
Although Du Fan had seen Chenchen fighting fiercely against the green dragon in the Divine Palace, upon comparing it now, he had to admit that, in a one-on-one fight, the green dragon probably wasn’t a match for these Evil Spider Queens. Yet Gannon could single-handedly take on so many of them—so even if his skills were slightly inferior to Chenchen’s, the difference wasn’t that great!
He wondered what kind of luck he had in life—just a few days out here and already encountering such things. He wasn’t sure if it was good luck or bad.
With a sigh, Du Fan couldn’t help but say, “Your teacher’s strength… it’s probably already at the Saint level… What technique is he using now? Is it also some kind of magic? If magic is that powerful… then it’s truly…”
As he spoke, Du Fan instinctively touched his nose.
Rinne, on the other hand, had a strange expression. She originally hated Du Fan deeply, but along the way, their fates became closely intertwined. Several times when Du Fan was in danger, she would subconsciously save him—something truly peculiar.
Perhaps what people mean by “fates intertwined for life” refers exactly to this.
At that moment, she exhaled softly, putting aside these chaotic thoughts for now. With a low sigh, she said, “This… this isn’t the magic of our Kara tribe… It’s the first time I’ve seen him use this technique either. It seems as mysterious as his origins…”
“His origins?” Du Fan frowned. “Is your teacher’s background that strange?”
A strange look appeared on Rinne’s face. After a moment, she replied calmly, “It is said that he was originally just an ordinary barbarian warrior. But one day, he got lost in the Twilight Mountains. No one knows where he went. Three years later, he reappeared, already possessing strength that surpassed everyone in his tribe… As you know, we Kara people value the strong. After reappearing, my teacher went straight to the Divine Palace to challenge the high priest at the time. The battle was said to have been fierce, but the high priest wasn’t his match and died at his hands. He then became the high priest and also the prophet of the tribe.”

“Later, we guessed that he must have had some extraordinary experiences during those three years of being lost. No one believed him at the time, but later he did a series of things for our Kara people, and gradually our clan grew stronger. We just never expected him to…” At this point, Rinne’s face showed an expression of disbelief.
Du Fan nodded and asked, “How long ago was this?”
“About thirty years, I think?” Rinne hesitated. “Maybe a few more years, but it’s roughly that.”
Du Fan nodded slightly and couldn’t help but glance again at Gannon floating in the sky. He still looked ageless, making it impossible to tell his age—truly strange.
At that moment, Gannon was fighting with those Evil Spider Queens in the air, but his magical flames seemed weaker, and he couldn’t burn them all at once. Du Fan frowned inwardly. If Gannon lost, there was no way he could escape from those creatures—running away quickly was the best option.
Yet every corner of this place seemed deadly; it was unclear where safety lay. Gannon said the only exit was near the Abyss Gate, so he had to go there no matter what.
As he was thinking, he suddenly heard Rinne let out a cry of shock.
Du Fan turned around and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Rinne pointed at the burned Evil Spider Queen, unable to speak for a moment.
The burned Evil Spider Queen lay less than a meter away from them, its head facing them. Beneath its charred shell, faint traces of blood could be seen. One of its eyes seemed burned out, but the other suddenly moved slightly.
Suddenly, the giant Evil Spider Queen moved slightly, its huge eye turning to stare at Du Fan and Rinne.
Du Fan immediately broke into cold sweat. Even though the Evil Spider Queen was severely injured, it was still much stronger than him.
Du Fan grabbed Rinne tightly and whispered, “What are you waiting for? Run!”
Sure enough, the Evil Spider Queen’s speed gradually increased. It seemed extremely afraid of Gannon. After getting up, it let out a few hisses. Then, ignoring the chaotic battle between the Evil Spider Queens and Gannon not far away, it turned its eye and rushed toward Du Fan and Rinne.
Du Fan glanced back, inwardly groaning. These Evil Spider Queens even knew how to pick the easiest targets—he didn’t know whether to admire or be frustrated.

Both of them felt their legs go weak. Faint scraping sounds came from behind them, and the ground trembled with each movement of the Evil Spider Queen. Both were injured, but Du Fan’s injuries were much more severe. He couldn’t run for long; the pain from his broken ribs kept worsening. He knew that if he continued running like this, he would never be able to escape.

They ran for a long distance, but the Evil Spider Queen could catch up with just a single leap. No matter how fast they ran, they couldn’t outrun her. Fortunately, compared to the size of the Evil Spider Queen, the two humans were like mice facing a giant cat. They darted through the bushes, using the tall trees to block the Evil Spider Queen’s path, but even that wouldn’t last forever.

Du Fan gradually felt even breathing painful. He realized his earlier injuries had flared up. He knew that if he kept running, he might die from exhaustion even before the Evil Spider Queen killed him. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the Evil Spider Queen behind him.

Rinne nearly fell to the ground as he pulled her along suddenly. Turning back, she saw that Du Fan’s expression was strange and shouted, “Du Fan, what are you doing? Hurry up and run!”

Staring at the approaching Evil Spider Queen, Du Fan sighed deeply and said, “Run away quickly. I can’t go any further… I ruined your purity before; I owe you my life. Right now, I’m still able to hold off this thing, but you still have a chance to escape. If we stay together… there will be no chance at all.”

Rinne’s eyes reddened. She didn’t know why, but it felt like something exploded in her head. She grabbed Du Fan’s hand and said in a trembling voice, “You know what you’ve done. As a man, can’t you admit it? This life belongs to me. No one other than me can take it away…”

Du Fan laughed bitterly and said, “Rinne, don’t be silly… I know what I’ve done. Even if I run at all costs, I can’t go any further. In that case, it’s better if you give me a chance to atone… This will be the only good thing I do in my life!”

As he spoke, his internal energy flared up, but his injuries were too severe. The surge of energy made his throat burn, and with a cough, another mouthful of blood sprayed out. His body swayed, and he collapsed to the ground, barely able to breathe.

By this time, the Evil-Crowned Spider Queen was already right in front of her. It was too late to run. Ringo felt a sharp pain in her heart, and a strange thought surged through her mind— I can’t let him die! I can’t let him die!! I can’t let him die!!! She gritted her teeth, blood welling at the corners of her mouth, then let out a sharp cry as more blood sprayed out. Suddenly, an immense aura emanated from Ringo; her entire body was bathed in bloodlight, as if all her magic had been restored in that instant. This was a secret technique of the barbarians—the Blood Sacrifice! A silver glow flashed in Ringo’s eyes, and time around her seemed to slow down drastically. Her figure slowly rose upward, and with a wave of her hand, several blood-red magic blades were sent flying, striking the Evil-Crowned Spider Queen. The spider queen let out several agonized screams, her body already covered in deep wounds. With Ringo’s usual strength, even with the Blood Sacrifice, she shouldn’t have been able to match such a powerful enemy. But the Evil-Crowned Spider Queen had already suffered greatly at Gannon’s hands, and now, with Ringo’s attacks, she trembled in pain. She hesitated for a moment before retreating quickly. It was only then that Ringo fell back from the air. She turned to look at Du Fan and seemed to smile faintly, but then couldn’t help but spew more blood, becoming extremely weak. Ringo felt dizzy—this was the aftermath of the Blood Sacrifice. Without proper rest, she wouldn’t be able to recover. Her vision blurred, and she wanted to pass out and ignore everything, but she forced herself to endure the dizziness by gently biting her tongue, which helped her regain clarity. Du Fan watched her, his body going limp as he collapsed to the ground. Even with his personality, he felt a hint of guilt—had he been too harsh by exploiting this woman’s psychology to force her to use this technique? But before he could dwell on self-reproach, he suddenly felt his body grow heavy. Before he could shout, he sank downward into the ground…