Chapter 149 : Chapter 149

Ryan swallowed, and his throat hurt from how dry it was.

He had to think of something.

He had to.

At that moment, a voice sounded in the depths of his mind.

“Where did you even provoke this thing?”

It was Syl. He had not shown himself in a long time.

Ever since helping Ryan once during the Frost Crystal Explosion Incident, he had vanished again. No form, no appearance, not even that tiny blue chick shape.

Sometimes Ryan almost forgot that he still carried the remnant soul of a Sacred Beast with him. Only when he occasionally touched the Emerald Wind Oath at his chest would he remember.

Oh. Right. There was still a guy in there sleeping.

Until just now.

“Where are we?” Syl asked.

Ryan drew in a breath. While keeping his eyes locked on the creature’s movements, he answered rapidly in his mind, “The Starfall Ruins. An Elven ruin.”

“Elves?”

There was something strange in Syl’s voice.

Then he fell silent.

After two breaths, he spoke again, his tone turning grave. “No. Something is wrong with this place.”

“What’s wrong?”

“The air is saturated with polluted energy fluctuations,” Syl said. “Elves? How could Elves exist in a place like this? How could an Elven ruin possibly be in a place like this?”

Ryan did not answer.

He had no time to argue over whether this really was an Elven ruin.

He had no proof, no time, and no energy to spare.

The thing was still pacing a little over ten meters away, ready to pounce again at any moment.

“I don’t care whether this is an Elven ruin or not,” Ryan said inwardly. “I need to survive first. Do you have a solution?”

Syl fell silent for a moment.

Then he said, “I’ve never seen anything like the creature in front of you either. But for you, it’s extremely strong.”

“I noticed.”

“Its strength comes from its body,” Syl said, his tone sharpening with focus. “Those muscles, those bones, they’ve already surpassed the limits of normal life. That’s why your blade can’t cut it and your Magic can’t penetrate it.”

“So?”

“So you need greater force,” Syl said. “A large-scale, high-powered offensive spell. The kind that can cover an entire area.”

Ryan frowned. “But that kind of spell needs a long chant.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t even have enough time to catch my breath.”

“Then you’ll have to find a way yourself,” Syl said. “I can only help you this much—”

Before he finished speaking, Ryan suddenly felt a warm current surge through his chest.

It began where the Emerald Wind Oath rested and spread through his blood, through his chest, through all four limbs, seeping into every pore.

His depleted Mana pool felt as though it had been filled with living water, rapidly swelling full again.

His exhausted body seemed to receive a fresh infusion of strength. Even his legs did not tremble as badly anymore.

At the same time, a faint blue glow surfaced over his skin.

The blessing of the wind element.

Ryan froze for an instant.

“I can only help you this much,” Syl said. “A replenishment of Mana, and the blessing of the wind element. The rest, you’ll have to figure out yourself.”

Ryan inhaled slowly.

That warm current was still flowing through him. The sensation of his Mana brimming full again let him steady himself at last.

Blue radiance streamed across his skin. He could feel the wind whispering at his ears, coiling around his fingertips.

He lifted his head and looked at the creature.

It was still pacing a little over ten meters away. It seemed to sense something, because those dark yellow slit pupils narrowed slightly as they fixed on the blue glow around him.

Ryan tightened his grip on the short blade.

He could dodge, but he could not hurt it. That had been his predicament a moment ago.

Now, with his Mana replenished, he could dodge longer. With the blessing of the wind element, he could dodge faster.

But he still could not harm it.

He had to find a way. A method that bypassed that monstrous wall of muscle entirely.

Ryan stared at the thing while his mind raced through every possibility.

A large-scale offensive spell required a long chant. While chanting, he would have to stand still, which would make him a perfect target.

But what if there were a way to keep that thing from moving?

What if he could hold it in place, even for only a few breaths—

The thing suddenly moved.

It no longer paced. It no longer waited. It lunged straight at him, fast as a bolt of black lightning.

Wind and thunder detonated beneath Ryan’s feet as he dodged sideways. Blue light flowed around him, making him just a little faster than before. The claw tips tore past his shoulder and ripped away another strip of cloth.

He landed, rolled, and rose again.

The creature had already turned to face him once more.

Ryan panted, but the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

Faster.

He was faster than before.

As long as he had enough Mana, as long as he could maintain this speed—

He asked inwardly, “Syl, can you let me use one large-scale spell?”

“I can,” Syl answered. “But it needs time. Ten breaths. At least ten.”

Ten breaths.

For that thing, ten breaths were enough for it to charge at him ten times over.

Ryan stared into those dark yellow slit pupils, his mind already calculating.

Ten breaths.

He needed to keep this thing from moving for ten breaths. Or, at the very least, keep it from reaching him in ten breaths.

How?

Could he use the surrounding trees? The craters in the ground? The broken trunks the beast had smashed through?

The thing charged again.

Ryan had no time to think further. All he could do was dodge, evade, and force his mind to keep working while he did.

Ten breaths.

He had to buy ten breaths.

There had to be a way.

Wind and thunder erupted beneath his feet, blue and violet light interweaving as it hurled him ten meters backward.

The creature’s claws swept through the place where he had just stood and crashed into the ground with a BOOM. Dirt exploded upward, leaving behind a pit half a meter deep.

Ryan landed and did not stop. He turned and ran straight toward the denser part of the forest.

The thing paused for an instant.

This little rat had been resisting desperately just a moment ago. Why was it suddenly running?

But it understood quickly enough.

Running was even better.

It liked to chase.

The thrill of a hunt was even more intoxicating than simply biting its prey to death.

It drove itself forward with all four limbs. Its black body, seven or eight meters long, shot after Ryan like a streak of black lightning.

BOOM—

A tree as thick as a bowl shattered when it rammed through it, the break exploding outward in a spray of splinters.

BOOM—another tree.

BOOM—another.

In front of it, the trees were like paper.

It did not go around them. It did not evade them. It simply tore straight through, smashing apart everything in its path. Whether the trunk was bowl-thick or waist-thick, they all broke, shattered, and flew aside.

Broken timber flew through the air. Branches whipped wildly. Its enormous claws tore up the soil as it ran, leaving a deep trench in its wake.

As it chased, it let out a low growl. The sound was like thunder rising from the depths of the earth, and the leaves around them trembled down in showers.

Ryan ran ahead of it and did not dare turn his head.

He could hear everything happening behind him.

The crashing impacts. One after another. Growing closer and closer.

The trees fell in sequence, like dominoes, toppling in his direction. Splinters struck his back with sharp, painful stings.

Run, damn legs, run!