Chapter Forty-One: A Hair’s Breadth from Disaster (1)

“Are you alright?!”
Will examined Semilly’s wound—his shoulder had been torn open, leaving a gash. Fortunately, the bone was unharmed, but the wound was so large that scarlet blood gushed forth, soaking Semilly’s clothes in moments.

West was nowhere to be found, and Will himself could not reveal his ability to use healing magic of another attribute. Helpless, he could only bandage Semilly’s wound as best he could.

“I’m fine!”
The handsome young man gritted his teeth against the pain, drew his wand from his breast, and forced a weak smile at Will. His already pale face was now almost devoid of color.

The hollow they hid in was surrounded by dense shrubs, making it a perfect cover. Peeking out cautiously, they saw the Grand Soulmaster steadily approaching the place where Charlesberg was hiding.

“We must stop him,” Semilly whispered, immediately raising his wand and chanting a rapid incantation. Instantly, countless razor-sharp blades of wind appeared in midair, howling as they shot toward the Grand Soulmaster.

“Oh? Magic?”
The Grand Soulmaster cast a casual glance at the wind blades, a flicker of surprise in his eyes, but amusement and scorn soon replaced it. With a shout, his serpent-shaped spear erupted with an intense emerald aura. He raised his arms high and swept the spear, shattering the incoming wind blades with ease.

It was not that Semilly’s wind blades were weak, but the difference in their levels was simply too great—their powers were in entirely separate leagues.

Now that Semilly had acted, their hiding place was exposed. Will was left with no choice but to join the fray. Feigning the recitation of a spell, he waved his wand and a blazing crimson flame shot forth, drawing the attention of everyone present—especially the Grand Soulmaster.

“Wind Spire!”
Seizing the opportunity, Semilly unleashed another spell. Three enormous wind spires tore through the silence, whistling as they hurtled toward the Grand Soulmaster.

“Hmph, you think such crude ambushes will succeed?!”
The Grand Soulmaster snorted in disdain. With a casual flick, his spear sent forth another emerald wave, shattering the first two wind spires effortlessly. But the last one, strangely, managed to withstand his aura.

At that moment, a sharp gleam flashed in Will’s eyes. He snapped his wand, shouting, “Shatter!”

The flame in midair responded, exploding into countless fiery arrows. Not only that, but within the fiery rain, many razor-edged wind blades were hidden! The combination of fire and wind rained down relentlessly upon the Grand Soulmaster.

“Is that all you’ve got?!”
Even under such a barrage, the Grand Soulmaster’s power was astonishing. With a roar, he spun his nearly two-meter-long serpent spear, sending forth emerald waves that held the fire and wind at bay no more than a meter from his body.

“Now!”
The Soulmasters protecting Charlesberg shouted as one. Their soul beasts erupted with power, and they charged at the Grand Soulmaster like the wind, attacking while he was distracted by the magical assault.

“Take this chance—get the Count out of here!”
Semilly barked at Will, sending a flurry of wind blades toward the soul-hunter assassins lurking in the darkness. Without delay, he dragged Will toward Charlesberg’s hiding place.

The serpent spear howled through the air, each strike generating a fierce wind. The aura slashed wildly, and though such a long weapon would normally be unwieldy in close combat, in the Grand Soulmaster’s hands it seemed almost alive. Even against the attacks of nine formidable Soulmasters, his movements were fluid and unbroken. Suddenly, in a blur, the emerald spear struck out like a phantom, knocking aside two Soulmasters before darting straight for a Soulmaster bonded with a Blaze Bear.

With a roar, the Soulmaster unleashed his crimson flame aura to its utmost, relying on his bear’s strength to withstand the Grand Soulmaster’s blow. But to his horror, the straight spear transformed at the last moment into an emerald beam, curving impossibly around his defenses and piercing straight through his heart.

“What—what the devil is this?!”

Stunned by the bizarre scene, the Soulmasters hesitated. In that instant, the Grand Soulmaster spun his spear, and with a flicker, the weapon again transformed into a twisting emerald serpent. With ruthless force, he severed the heads of two more Soulmasters.

Blood sprayed wildly. The Grand Soulmaster wiped a smear from his face, ready to finish off the remaining Soulmasters—only to realize that his target, Charlesberg, had been spirited away by several magicians!

“Finish them off. I’ll give chase!”
He shouted to his companions, swept his spear to drive back those blocking his path, and bounded forward, covering dozens of meters in a few leaps. He was nearly upon Charlesberg and his escorts when a black arrow shot from the magicians ahead. The arrow’s power was slight; with a careless sweep of his spear, the Grand Soulmaster struck it down.

A harsh hiss rang out. The Grand Soulmaster glanced at his spear in surprise—sometime during the exchange, patches of inky black flames had adhered to it, and these flames were now corroding the weapon!

“Dark magic?”
He grunted, shook his arm, and flung the black fire away. His eyes narrowed as he gazed at the fleeing group, a murderous glint flashing within.

“Crimson Python’s Roar!”
With a thunderous shout, his arms swelled to several times their normal size, making his whole body look grotesquely disproportionate. Clutching the spear tightly, he summoned a surge of emerald aura that enveloped the weapon. Fierce winds tore through the air, and a suffocating sense of danger filled the night.