Chapter 70: Escape and Promise

In every administrative city of the Harrison Empire’s counties, there stood a branch of the Bounty Guild, each one at the very least presided over by a third-tier Fate Spirit Master. With thirty-six counties, this meant there were at least thirty-six such masters. In particularly perilous regions where war raged fiercely, there could be as many as three third-tier masters stationed at once. By this reckoning, the empire’s total number of third-tier Fate Spirit Masters easily reached into the hundreds.

Above them were the fourth-tier Fate Spirit Masters, each commanding a Calamity Divine Beast. From what Charles remembered of the future, there would be at least four such beings. At present, the one overseeing Farn County was a venerable and battle-hardened third-tier Fate Spirit Master of the empire, wielding a fearsome Ultimate Totem.

In the original events of the future, it was he who personally struck down the powerful True God Cultist who came to the rescue. Now, he had arrived.

“Ah!” Allen let out a cry as he was seized and hoisted up, while Charles was similarly snatched by the Ironclad Ape.

He didn’t forget the wounded Leslie, and called out urgently, “If you have any tricks left, use them now! Otherwise, we won’t be able to escape!”

Charles knew well the weakness of their pursuer’s totem; if they could just hold it off for a moment, they might succeed in fleeing.

“Alright!” Leslie spat a mouthful of blood, forced himself to move, and performed a summoning spirit art with great difficulty.

Charles, fighting off exhaustion, squinted and noticed that Leslie seemed to be using a certain gemstone rather than his own totem.

A thunderous howl split the air as two enormous wolves materialized, launching themselves in a suicidal charge at the terrifying beast in the distance.

The three-headed hound, meanwhile, clamped Charles in its jaws and tossed him onto its back as if he weighed nothing.

When the hound tried to do the same to Rody, however, a defensive aura appeared around him, preventing the beast from getting a grip. Left with no choice, it moved on.

The two great beasts, now carrying their three charges, bolted toward the northern forest. They had barely run two minutes before a thunderous roar and two agonized howls erupted behind them.

The giant wolves had bought them less than two minutes, but it was enough. The Ironclad Ape and the three-headed hound moved with astonishing speed, faster even than the swiftest cheetah on Bluewater Star. In three minutes, they had covered several kilometers and plunged into the depths of the endless woods.

Once they were gone, a massive lead-gray serpent dozens of meters long slithered into view, a wolf carcass dangling from its jaws.

What was astonishing was that the four-meter-long wolf’s body rapidly shrank, and within seconds, it had been entirely digested.

This was the Ultimate Form—Petrifying Rock Serpent—a creature reminiscent of a gigantic gray cobra, marked with fine white stripes. The pattern on its neck resembled an enraged human face, its most distinct feature.

Having evolved from the Grayrock Serpent, it boasted a terrifying length close to a hundred meters and possessed seemingly indestructible defenses. It could petrify its prey and was venomous beyond belief. A single bite would inject poison potent enough to liquefy even the strongest totems of the same tier!

Of course, its weakness was just as apparent: it was a bit slow, which was the only reason Charles and his companions had managed to escape.

“These damned outlaws! Flouting the laws of the empire—they must all be brought to justice!” The man in the silver cloak dismounted from the serpent’s head. Catching sight of Rody lying on the ground, he let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness, the protective aura is intact; it means he isn’t mortally wounded. As long as he’s safe… Who would have thought a prince of this stature could end up in a place like Farn County?”

He summoned an odd-looking ape, gently cradled it in his arms, and turned back toward Storm Harbor.

He could tell the totem had suffered a grave eye injury, but since the defensive aura still lingered, it meant the totem was not dead. The main totem granted its master an ever-present protective aura, while secondary totems needed to be activated consciously; otherwise, if the master slept or fell unconscious, the aura would dissipate.

That was why many chose to make their main totem one with the strongest possible defenses, significantly increasing their survival odds and preventing assassination.

What the man failed to notice, however, was a faint, barely perceptible flash on Rody’s forehead, completely concealed by the gray defensive aura that enveloped him.

……

Meanwhile, the two giant beasts ran at full speed for nearly half an hour, covering over a hundred kilometers before finally coming to a stop.

Such terrifying velocity would have been unbearable had the three not been protected by their defensive auras. Even so, when they stopped, it took nearly an hour for them to recover.

During this time, Charles watched with a heavy heart as Leslie’s gruesome wounds closed up almost entirely. The deep gashes all over his body had stopped bleeding and were now covered in tender, new skin.

“With such incredible regenerative power, he’s no longer truly human,” Charles thought, his eyes filled with envy.

Leslie had no modulator to aid him; his rapid recovery was entirely due to his own constitution. Charles estimated Leslie’s physical attributes easily surpassed a value of ten, rivaling the mightiest evolved totems.

Moreover, after the life-and-death struggle, Leslie seemed to have grown even stronger—he was now half a step away from the threshold of an Ultimate Form.

Charles understood this well and said directly, “Leslie, now that the Ultimate Form is gone, about what you mentioned earlier?”

From the previous attribute allocation, Charles realized that pushing his own constitution above ten by spending evolution points could cost hundreds of them—enough to raise two or three Ultimate Forms, with resulting combat power and defense dozens of times more than enhancing himself.

This only made him covet Morente’s human super-evolution technology more. If he could obtain that, he could evolve at minimal cost.

“Cough… Thank you for saving me. My previous promise still stands. If you come with me to Morente, I’ll bring you into the academy’s top research labs, where you’ll gain access to all kinds of advanced technology.”

A smile broke through Leslie’s rugged features as he extended his massive, calloused hand. “So, will you come with me to Morente?”

“Of course, I’d be delighted. I just need to take care of some personal affairs first, so I’ll ask you to wait a little longer.” Charles reached out and shook his hand.

His hand, fair and delicate, contrasted starkly with Leslie’s bronzed, broad palm—almost girlish by comparison, which made Charles feel a bit awkward.

“Certainly. If you don’t mind, I could stay at your place for a few days and recuperate,” Leslie said, grinning.

With the murderous aura gone, he once again resembled a nobleman, though his nearly two-meter stature made him stand out wherever he went—a natural focus of attention.

“Of course,” Charles nodded, holding little suspicion toward him.

Like Rody, Leslie was a heroic character, upright and honorable—a man of his word.

On the side, Allen watched with amazement. The two who had nearly fought to the death moments ago had become friends in the blink of an eye… Clearly, neither of them was normal.

^^^^^^^^^

End of Volume