A desperate cry for help
With mutated ghosts frantically draining his life force in front and mutated wolves blocking his escape route behind, Finn Liver felt like his life was a tattered book filled with the word "unlucky," and the author was still desperately tearing pages out!
"Concealing Breath Talisman! Yes! Concealing Breath Talisman!" In his desperate situation, Finn almost instinctively used his last precious talisman to protect himself. A flash of light, and his aura instantly became incredibly weak, like a roadside stone.
The effect was immediate! The few dire wolves that had been chasing them the hardest suddenly lost their target. A look of confusion flashed in their scarlet eyes as they paced anxiously in place, sniffing the air, but could no longer catch that fresh and alluring scent.
Finn was so terrified he dared not breathe. He scrambled into a thicket of bushes that emitted a strange smell, his heart pounding so hard it felt like it would leap out of his throat. He covered his mouth tightly and peered through the gaps in the leaves at the hellish scene outside.
Ghosts moved silently, taking lives one after another; wolves lurked at the edge of the clearing, greedily licking the blood flowing from the ground; the howls of the wounded and the agonizing groans of those under the influence of curses mingled together, creating a chilling spectacle. The two professors struggled to defend themselves. Their magic was powerful, clearing away a small area of ghosts or repelling wolves with each strike, but it had little effect on the eerie curses, leaving them only able to watch helplessly as their students' life force dwindled.
A professor attempted to forcibly purify an icy blue curse mark on a student's arm, but the holy light clashed violently with the curse energy, accelerating the student's weakening. The professor was so frightened that he immediately stopped casting the spell, his face filled with helplessness and anger.
"Damn it! What kind of curse is this?!" another professor roared, waving his staff to summon a blazing wall of fire, temporarily repelling the surging demon wolves, but the fire wall had little effect on the ghosts.
"We must immediately request assistance from the academy! We need higher-level divine mages and a large amount of holy water!" the professor gritted his teeth, pulling out a specially made magical whistle for emergency calls from his pocket.
However, just as he raised the whistle arrow, a massive ghost leader hidden in the shadows suddenly pounced out, its icy breath instantly freezing half of his body and the whistle arrow!
"Professor!" the students screamed in terror.
"It's over... the connection has been cut off..." The professor, who was suffering from frostbite, was pale and despair appeared in his eyes for the first time.
There wasn't even a chance to call for help!
Finn, watching from behind the bushes, felt his heart sink. The professors were trapped, rescue seemed far off, were they really all going to die here?
No! He absolutely cannot die here! Finn Liver hasn't become a tycoon yet, hasn't learned more powerful Eastern secret arts from Miss Ling, and hasn't earned enough money to build a big house for his hometown!
A strong will to survive and a strange sense of responsibility spurred his brain to work at high speed.
If we can't count on the academy for rescue... then who can we rely on?
A figure suddenly flashed into his mind—the black-haired girl who always had a blank expression but could create miracles with ease!
Miss Ling! Yes! Find Miss Ling! She can even solve that bizarre dark corruption and Karl's absurd enhancement side effects, so maybe she can deal with these curses!
This thought was like a flash of lightning in the darkness, illuminating Finn's almost desperate heart.
But... how do I get there? The outside world is teeming with monsters! Even if I could run straight back to the academy city, it would take half a day! By the time he brings reinforcements, everyone here will be long dead!
Let's give it our all!
A glint of desperate madness flashed in Finn's eyes. He suddenly remembered that the "Swiftness Talisman" Ling Yao had given him hadn't completely worn off; he still felt a lingering lightness in his legs. And the "Concealment Talisman" was still active.
He took a deep breath, carefully adjusted his posture, and stared intently at the weakest point in the encirclement—where only two or three wolves were wandering, and further away was a relatively safe dense forest.
You only get one chance!
He suddenly sprang out from behind the bushes, maximizing the remaining effects of the "Swiftness Talisman," and rushed towards the gap like an arrow released from a bow! At the same time, he tightly clutched the last bit of his trump card in his hand—a few crookedly drawn "Gentle Breeze Talismans" that he had created himself during practice.
"Idiot! Look this way!" He ran wildly, haphazardly activating the "Gentle Breeze Talisman" and throwing it towards the demonic wolves.
Puff puff puff!
A few weak gusts of air rose up, which, although not very lethal, successfully attracted the attention of the few demon wolves. They growled and pounced on Finn!
"Now!" Finn seized the opportunity and, just before the dire wolves pounced, rolled away with a swift, lazy roll, narrowly slipping through the gaps between their claws and teeth, and plunged into the dense forest ahead without looking back!
"Roar!" The demonic wolf, having been tricked, roared angrily and gave chase.
Finn's sudden appearance and escape instantly attracted the attention of all the monsters and ghosts around the clearing! Some of the monsters immediately split up and chased after him in the direction he fled!
"Someone ran away!"
"Which idiot is this? This will only attract more monsters!"
"No! He's trying to lure some of the monsters away!"
The surviving students in the open space gasped in surprise.
The two professors also witnessed Finn's suicidal behavior. They were initially shocked, but then understood his intentions, and a complex emotion arose in their hearts.
"Hurry up!" The frostbitten professor used his still-movable arm to create an ice wall, barely slowing down the pursuers, and hoarsely shouted in the direction Finn had disappeared.
Finn couldn't hear anything behind him at that moment; he had only one thought—run! Run for your life! Run back to Academy City as fast as you can! Find Miss Ling!
The effects of the "Swiftness Spell" were fading rapidly, and his legs felt as heavy as lead. The wolf howls and the eerie ghostly screech behind him grew closer, and he could even smell the nauseating stench and putrid odor.
My physical strength was rapidly depleting, and fear coiled around my heart like a cold, venomous snake.
We can't stop! We absolutely can't stop!
He recalled the terrifying curses spreading across his classmates, the professors' helpless gazes, and Ling Yao's calm expression when she gave him the bag of life-saving talismans.
"Miss Ling... wait for me... you must wait for me!" Finn gritted his teeth, squeezing out the last bit of strength from his body, and ran desperately. Branches whipped his face, drawing blood, and thorns tore his trousers, but he was completely unaware.
Perhaps the "Concealing Breath Talisman" still had a slight effect, perhaps he was lucky, or perhaps the main target of those monsters was still the large force in the open area, and the number of pursuers was not as many as expected.
After running for what felt like an eternity, Finn finally staggered out of the edge of the Black Forest and saw the familiar silhouette of the Academy City in the distance!
Hope is just around the corner!
But he dared not pause for the slightest, and with his last bit of strength, he rushed toward the academy city. He looked extremely disheveled: his clothes were tattered and covered in mud and blood, his face and hands were covered in scratches, his breathing was rapid like a broken bellows, but his eyes shone with a frightening intensity.
The guards at the city gate saw this person running towards them like a refugee from afar and immediately raised their weapons in alarm.
"Halt! Who goes there!"
"Are they students participating in the trials? How did things get like this?"
"Is there a monster chasing him?"
Finn didn't have time to explain; he ran while shouting in a hoarse voice, "Make way! Make way! Urgent military situation! Something's happened at the Black Forest Trial! A large number of students are trapped! Rescue is urgently needed!"
Upon hearing that "something went wrong at the trial" and "students were trapped," the guards' expressions changed, and they dared not obstruct him any longer, immediately clearing a path. Finn rushed through the city gate like a whirlwind, running headlong down that familiar alley without stopping.
Pedestrians on the street were so frightened by his mad appearance that they avoided him and pointed at him.
"Isn't that Finn from the 'Eastern Secret Medicine'?"
"How did he get into this state?"
"I heard something went wrong during the trials?"
Finn ignored the surrounding chatter; his eyes were fixed on the shop sign that was getting closer and closer.
Finally, the familiar wooden door of "Eastern Secret Medicine" appeared before our eyes!
Finn, almost with his last ounce of willpower, lunged at the door and began pounding on it with all his might, his voice hoarse and almost cracking.
"Miss Ling! Open the door! Open the door quickly! Something terrible has happened! Help!!!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The violent banging on the door and the shrill screams instantly shattered the tranquility of the alley.
Inside the shop, Ling Yao, who was examining a new piece of ore, paused and frowned slightly.
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