Chapter 51
Xia wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, slowly stood up, and looked at the guy who wasn't far from her.
He seemed to be waiting for her to get up. Although she didn't know why he was patiently waiting for her to get up, he was indeed very patiently waiting for her to stand up.
Alpha moved all the bones in his body, and with the slightest movement, he could hear the cracking and popping sounds of his muscles moving his bones.
In the previous battle, Xia was completely suppressed; her combat strength was only classified as a Demon General. Although she was already considered a very strong demon spirit, there was still a considerable gap between her and a cultivator who had undergone ascetic training.
Even though his hands were empty, whether he couldn't use the sacred artifact or simply didn't have one, this guy was relying on his abnormal physical strength to make her feel despair.
Their battle nearly destroyed half of the city wall, but no monsters dared to enter through the breach. The aura emanating from these two was so intimidating that any monster attempting to approach had to prepare for certain death.
Alpha got into position, breathing heavily to ensure his lungs were full of oxygen. Once Xia's attack was launched, the surrounding oxygen would be depleted, especially in this semi-enclosed environment. Once the oxygen was exhausted, those relying on physical strength would be at a disadvantage.
To reverse this, Alpha would have to leave gaps in every city wall it passed through.
Xia vanished from her spot and reappeared twenty meters behind him, a bow already in her hand. The fiery red bow was drawn, and a burst of flame shot forward.
Alpha tried to block it with the back of his hand, but one of the arrows still pierced his muscle. This was Xayah's hidden surprise; it could even penetrate the body of an ascetic.
After Xia succeeded in her attack, she pursued him. The huge fire wings that spread behind her accelerated her to an extremely terrifying level, all in order to instantly shove the fireball in her hand into Alpha's arms.
The city wall exploded violently again, and the flames even formed a brief mushroom cloud in the air. The clods of earth were burned to ashes and fell to the ground.
Xia landed on a broken section of the city wall. Because the foothold there was not solid, it would be difficult for even a cultivator to get close to her in an instant if they were to fight her there.
If the foothold is unstable, the ascetic has no leverage to allow his second acceleration to exceed Xia's initial speed, which will give her time to counterattack.
Alpha emerged from the smoke, casually pulling the arrow from his arm and tossing it to the ground. The wound hadn't healed; his body, while incredibly resilient, was also slow to recover. It took considerable time for his body to re-fill the wound with something of such high strength.
Thinking about it that way, Xia might have the advantage, but so far she's only been able to inflict damage in three places, the other two being her back and waist. They all look like serious injuries, but this guy is acting like nothing happened.
As a monster herself, Xia truly felt she wasn't as dedicated as this guy. He was more than just a monster; he seemed to have transcended the boundaries of being a living being.
It seems I've really come to a very dangerous place. Although I'd heard that this place was a bit eerie, I never expected that I'd have to fight ascetics on my very first day.
I have no idea how I'm going to survive the next few days, but I shouldn't be thinking about it now. Because I might very well die in the coming days.
It's entirely possible; even Xia herself wouldn't believe she could survive. After all, battles against ascetics have always been textbook scenarios, and very few people have actually fought against these beings who are no longer considered human.
“You’ve gotten yourself into a lot of trouble.” Alpha looked up at Xia, who was standing on high, and said, “If you hadn’t caused this trouble, we could have let the Red Demon leave. You could have left long ago too. But why did you have to do it this way? It’s clearly not good for anyone.”
He asked this question, but it seemed he didn't want Xia to answer.
“When has the church ever been this nice to us?” Xia just chuckled softly and said, “You guys who force others to follow your own values are really annoying.”
“Those values are all about justice. Isn’t it right for us to demand justice from the world?”
"Do you want everyone to be a saint?" Xia found it ridiculous: "Perhaps you think that the best world would be one where everyone is an obedient puppet."
“We don’t deny that, but you’re not only not obedient puppets, you’re all troublemakers. The new world is in chaos, and we hope that the area we manage can be a little more peaceful. But you’re not even willing to follow that.” Alpha looked up at Xia and said, “It’s really terrible.”
This time, he wasn't going to hear a reply. He leaped up, swinging his fist. Holy magic gathered in his fist, and Xia nimbly dodged, the city wall she had just been wearing completely collapsing.
Xia looked down at the city from the sky, sighed helplessly, and then disappeared into the air.
She didn't intend to continue fighting, because the fire giant had just vanished. Alpha was only in the mood to talk to her because the troublesome thing was gone.
As expected of Ketchum, Alpha was very satisfied with this junior. His reputation as a genius spread far and wide, and his story was a popular topic of conversation in the church.
He was initially somewhat dismissive, but the way he dealt with the troublesome situation so cleanly and efficiently showed that he possessed considerable fighting strength.
As for Ketchum, he simply watched from afar as the fire giant disappeared.
He knew perfectly well that the thing's disappearance wasn't due to him; he didn't have the ability to make it vanish instantly. Even if he ultimately won, it would only be after revealing all his trump cards and suffering severe exhaustion.
Is there anyone in this city who could just drop a monster like you on their way?
There were no other answers; this was the only reality, the only option. Ketchum took a deep breath to calm himself. He needed time to process the overwhelming sense of devastation this reality was causing him.
He finally found what he had been searching for for years, but now he felt no joy whatsoever.
When Carl looked up, he saw Kitty.
After staring at each other for a long time, Ketchum waved, and Karl waved back. He carried the unconscious girl and disappeared into the rubble.
Ketcht stood motionless for a long time, knowing he shouldn't remain idle. As a paladin, he had responsibilities to fulfill.
But if he really wanted to escape reality, Ketchum thought that perhaps he should have been a normal knight and shouldn't have gotten involved with the church.
The fire is still burning, but it won't last much longer because the fire element has been disrupted, and dark clouds have gathered in the sky. A torrential downpour, like a flood, is expected soon.
Is it a heavy rain? Indeed, the ground needs a cleansing; there's so much filth that needs to be swept away. And the flames of another city need to be extinguished.
The gates to the safe zone opened again, and the residents of the city stared silently at the ruins.
This place was just rebuilt not long ago, and now it's all been destroyed again.
But perhaps we should have gotten used to it by now; this is just how the city is, where unpleasant and unpredictable things can happen every day. How many people died this time? Perhaps only the final population count will tell.
They were waiting for rain; otherwise, reconstruction was impossible. The knights and guards were still roaming the city, where a considerable number of monsters had spawned due to the fire. These needed to be cleared out.
Those living here could only sit by the city gate. There were places to lie down in the safe zone, but those were now filled with women, children, and the wounded. The remaining able-bodied people were sitting by the city gate, some helping to move tents.
“I’m increasingly convinced that bringing you along was a brilliant decision,” Ark said approvingly, patting Denos on the shoulder. “I’m planning to give you a raise.”
"Forget about the raise, I need you to explain some things to me." Denos wasn't buying Ark's act and looked helplessly at the two cats behind him: "What's wrong with these two?"
Besides the previous monster cat, there's another one now. It's an even more bizarre creature, and Denos just wants to turn away and find a corner to have a short, cathartic breakdown. Although Ark doesn't have the habit of bringing home every monster he encounters, anything he does bring home is bound to cause trouble. There's plenty of evidence to back that up.
But he seemed completely unrepentant, and he was even dragging a strange coffin behind him.
“There’s no rush to explain this.” Ark looked around the room and said, “It seems everyone is alright.”
This corner miraculously survived the disaster unscathed, thanks to Denos's magic that preserved it in the end. Although Nina's help was crucial in accomplishing this, the inn became one of the few safe havens in the city.
Although the exact extent of the damage has not yet been calculated, this place can be rebuilt sooner or later. Since the most important things within the safe zone have not been destroyed, there is no need to abandon it.
As for this small team? At least for now, everyone is doing well.
Except for Ghost Duke, who was found in ruins, his entire body burned beyond recognition. However, he was still alive; he regained consciousness just seconds after being pulled from the fire. Now, his body is wrapped in bandages and he's been placed on a bed. His recovery may take a long time, so he doesn't need much attention for a while.
“At least we’re still alive.” Hack sat beside the bed and shook his head helplessly. “Are you planning to stay here?”
Yak glanced at the cats sitting in the corner, huddled together resting. Both cats were exhausted and needed some time to close their eyes and catch their breath.
“I’ll go check on the carriage later. If it’s alright, we should get out of here as soon as possible.” Akton paused and said, “If we stay here any longer, we might just die one day.”
Deedri, who was in the corner, suddenly stared at him for some reason, and Ark didn't understand what it meant. But he didn't change his mind.
The reason he was here was gone; the city's alternate dimension had been destroyed. Although he felt bad for not helping to bring that thing back, Ark didn't intend to go all out to find it. It seemed different from anything he'd seen before.
But honestly, even if that thing really was bad, he didn't need to help. Ark shook his head, trying to clear his mind. His failure was something he couldn't change. It had already happened, and couldn't be altered. Being anxious and sad wouldn't help.
The two cats seemed to intend to find her, but that was a matter for later. The city was still burning, and the rain hadn't started falling yet.
Everyone's waiting for this rain, otherwise it's really dangerous to be outside. While moving around in the rain will leave you soaked, moving around in a raging fire might save you money on a coffin.
As Yak pondered the current situation, he felt a sense of relief wash over him.
Although it didn't go smoothly this time, at least it's over. Nobody knows what will happen next, but at least now they can all go back safely, and no one will die here.
Moreover, the team has grown significantly this time, and Yak thought he should perhaps create a new attendance list and add a few more carriages. Otherwise, there really wouldn't be enough room.
"So you can laugh." Lady tilted her head, then stared at Ark, suddenly stunned.
Because she could clearly see Ark's happy expression; this expressionless man was actually smiling. Like a child who had received candy.
But the laughter now was indeed a bit eerie, even though the disaster was still ongoing and the flames outside hadn't been extinguished. The air was thick and heavy, with smoke and dust covering the entire sky. It hadn't rained yet, but everyone knew it was going to. Because there was the sound of thunder outside.
Especially now that the atmosphere in the room was so somber, this expressionless man didn't become even more aloof; instead, he started to laugh.
Yak shook his head without explaining anything.
When was the last time there were so many people in the team? He was lost in memories, wondering where his friends were now and what had happened to them.
Having seen more of life, you're less likely to be troubled by current events and will only think about the future. As long as things will turn out well, you can smile no matter the circumstances.
Even if faced with the raging flames of hell, they would not feel fear. It was simply because they had a yearning for the future.
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