An unkempt, filthy, short figure dashed across a foggy canyon and leaped over to the other side with a powerful jump.
If there was something Liam was exceptionally good at, it was running, and he hadn’t stopped throughout the entire two months since getting off the bullet train.
He used the most direct path towards the north western borders of Echoria, uncaring of the magical beasts and human threats that lay there.
At the same time, he didn’t bother being discreet about it. The Royal army would catch up anyways. The best thing to do was board and ship and leave Echoria once and for all.
He had prepared well for the occasion, buying stamina, mental energy and strength restoration pills beforehand.
‘I should be getting chased by now,’ Liam assessed, popping another pill that helped heal his ghostly complex.
His hands and legs turned to mist now and again, bolstering his speed. All the while, his feet would tighten with darkness and spring him forward.
‘At my current speed, it will take just three weeks to reach Revel’s marker. I’m very close!’
Although the train did most of the work, Liam still had to traverse the rest of the distance himself.
The train didn’t allow entry to areas that neared Echoria’s borders. That required permission, which Liam obviously couldn’t ask for.
He had put aside all aspects of cultivation or rest to reach that goal.
Still, he couldn’t help but feel unnerved.
A week passed, and his journey continued relatively safely.
His stomach growled with anger and his body was drained of strength, but he suppressed those feelings and continued.
Another week passed, and there was still no issue.
Liam’s worry gradually lessened, but he wasn’t deluded by that. The surroundings switched continuously, from arid drylands to marshes and mountain peaks.
On the third week, the surroundings changed to a lush forest. A canopy blocked any sunlight from piercing through.
‘There’ll just be the sea after this point. I’ll find the organization there,’ Liam smiled.
Abruptly, Liam’s chest sank to his gut.
As he ran and looked over his shoulder – a habit he had developed throughout his journey – his golden eye constricted as he saw a figure trailing him through the dense forest.
Liam cursed and tore through the air with even faster speed.
The figure’s presence was utterly silent, meaning they were capable of masking it from a Rank 2 Magus.
Looking over his shoulder, the figure was closer, enough for Liam to assess her features.
It was Janice!
She had a grave expression on her face as she followed Liam. A mix of regret, anger, pity and thrill all at the same time.
“You should have played your cards right!” she shouted from behind, an inscribed spear clutched in her hands. “I could have trained you to become my equal!”
Grimacing, Liam didn’t respond as he ran, but it was clear the professor was going to catch up soon.
Not only that, Liam’s senses picked up on a distant group behind her, roughly a dozen who’s strength matched his.
SWOOSH!
A needle-thin bullet of liquid shot from behind and grazed Liam’s thigh, spraying blood over the ground.
Before he could even grunt in pain, another barrage of them followed, but he managed to evade them by using the terrain to his advantage.
‘Damn it! She’s a complete Rank 3 cultivator! I can’t do anything to her!’
BHOOOSH!
A giant stream of water broke through the treeline and smashed against Liam’s shoulder – strengthened by Obsidian Skin and Cartilage Brace – as he attempted to evade.
The speed that the spell was activated was too fast and too strong for Liam to properly dodge against, resulting in a chunk of missing flesh on his right shoulder.
Having experienced that pain before, Liam managed to grit his teeth and continue running, but his strength was readily being sapped.
Liam stilled his anxious thoughts and used everything at his disposal, conjuring a ball of chaos the size of his fist and hurling it precisely at Janice’s figure.
BOOOOM!
Liam looked over his shoulder as the blast went off. .
The shockwave was followed by a short silence, followed by Janice cutting through the cloud of dust generated from the explosion.
Liam unsheathed his blades and struck them against her spear.
CLING!
Instantaneously, another barrage of attacks followed.
There was a reason Janice was the battle professor.
Each of her attacks precisely struck Liam’s weak points, taking advantage of the length of her spear and superior cultivation. Entire chunks of Liam’s flesh started to fly off his body.
Having no choice, Liam activated the first form of his martial art.
His blades turned invisible as he weaved in and grazed Janice’s waist, but the latter brushed it off.
Pressure mounted against Liam’s mind which forced him to use Thicken to defend against.
Liam let loose every spell at his disposal, yet the mental attacks were simply slapped away.
Janice simply severed the Dark Chains from ensnaring her, but that allowed Liam to get close for the Surging Burst spell.
BOOOM!
Liam felt his fist smash against a thick membrane of water, absorbing the brunt of the attack and nullifying it.
Janice blurred, turning into a thin streak that reappeared behind him. Strangely enough, her back was to him, yet she didn’t feel the need to turn around.
Time slowed down.
There was only silence.
Liam’s eye slowly moved to his right arm, pangs of pain shooting through his body from it.
There was no arm.
Liam’s arm was severed clean off, twirling through the air.
Only blood and split bone was visible on his shoulder, spraying endless amounts of red liquid.
Liam had to stop running.
A solemn emotion filled his eye as he felt death nearer than ever.
Janice blurred again, reappearing below him and kicking his body upward in one fluid motion and sending it flying above.
CRCK!
Liam felt parts of his chest crack, his lungs devoid of any air.
His consciousness was swaying left and right, dangling like a loose thread as he ascended through the air.
‘So close. So damn close.’
The regret that washed over him felt worse than any pain he was going through. It was like a knife stabbing his heart repeatedly, then twisting and digging further.
“Such a small setback makes you despair… to think I called you determined.”