Thirty seconds!
He had bought thirty seconds of time… Ned and the others should have run a good distance by now…
Salazar, no longer hearing the sounds of his teammates running, grinned. He felt he had done a pretty good job, at least much better than that simpleton Krab. If he had known this, he would have rushed forward before that guy and entangled with this monster for a while.
But it seems to be reaching its limit…
The Lizardman with deep blue scales tried to raise his left hand, but his body didn't respond. However, this was expected, as his muscles were almost completely torn, and his meridians were mostly severed. It would be abnormal if he could still raise it.
His left eye was blind. Just a slight distortion of his movement due to the intense pain earlier had resulted in his pupil being directly pierced by the guy in front of him. But fortunately, he had tilted his neck in time, otherwise he might have fallen ten seconds ago.
His vision became blurred, and the constantly swaying figure in front of him was completely indistinct. Mocking laughter echoed from all directions. This wasn't his perception falling into Chaos, but some deceptive footwork or other technique. In short, he could no longer accurately judge the enemy's position…
"Hey, little Lizard, how about we make a deal?" Bannai's voice, seemingly near and far, sounded beside him: "You let me pass, and I'll leave you a complete corpse."
It had been thirty-five seconds…
Salazar desperately widened his remaining right eye. His gaze, largely covered by bloodstains, blinked slightly, locking onto Bannai's position again. He laughed hoarsely with his throat, which had almost been severed several times: "Leave me a complete corpse? Haha, if you said you'd spare my life, I might consider it."
"Alright." Bannai agreed readily. His manner of speaking was strange, which caused the voice, which should have been immediate, to have a slight delay and sound somewhat ethereal: "But I can't guarantee I won't settle scores later."
Forty seconds!
Salazar exhaled lightly, trying to regulate his breathing. At this moment, every bit of strength was precious. But even a Monk, with the most significant passive recovery ability, had limits. The 'Qi' within him, which he usually controlled like an extension of his arm, was completely chaotic. Although it still persisted in repairing his body, which was as broken as a ragged doll, the effect was infinitely close to zero.
But fortunately, it wasn't zero yet!
Feeling the slight surge of strength he could muster, Salazar slowly tilted his neck at Bannai: "Settle scores later?"
It was only forty-five seconds, and this distance was still too dangerous. With this monster's speed, catching up to the others would be easy. So, he had to delay a bit longer, even if it was just for one second! Every extra second meant a greater margin of safety for them!
"Trying to delay?" Bannai raised his hands again, and six seemingly inexhaustible blades reappeared between his fingers. He said coldly: "You have one second left to think."
Salazar sighed: "Alright, I've considered…"
Pfft!!
Three silver sharp blades instantly pierced his left chest, then twisted viciously. Bannai's grim whisper sounded in Salazar's ear: "Sorry, you spoke a bit too slowly~"
There was a reason Bannai had wasted nearly a minute with Salazar. While he could have instantly killed the blue-skinned Lizardman if he wanted to, he had always been wary of a certain technique that even a novice Monk could master.
For example, Touch of Karma!
Under prepared circumstances, it could reflect a certain proportion of damage back to the opponent, and most of the force could be retained. Bannai, however, was an assassin whose personal strength and physical attributes were not balanced. Although he wasn't afraid of Salazar's attacks, he couldn't ignore his own lethality.
He had already decided to kill all these annoying nobodies, so he didn't plan to bypass Salazar and go after Ned and the others directly. Besides, although the latter's strength wasn't particularly strong, his reaction speed wasn't slow either…
But the most important point was that Bannai enjoyed this cat-and-mouse game. The feeling of watching his prey die in despair, one after another, never got old!
When they realized that those bonds were meaningless, and those struggles were worthless, the sense of despair was no less refreshing than a glass of iced Dragonberry wine on a scorching hot day!
But it was about time. This short minute had pushed the Lizardman to his limit, and it was enough for those desperately fleeing little mice to see a glimmer of hope.
The rest was… to tear them apart!
Whether it was the Lizard, who could no longer concentrate, or the hope of those little mice!
But…
"No, you just moved too fast."
Salazar, whose heart should have been pulverized, didn't fall. Instead, he gripped Bannai's left wrist tightly.
"You!" Bannai's reaction was incredibly swift. He almost shattered the blood-stained claw the instant Salazar grabbed his wrist, but against the opponent's deliberate and premeditated move, he was still a split second too slow!
A surge of energy, like an electric current imbued with purple lightning, spread from Salazar's chest to Bannai's body, slowing his movements by less than a second due to paralysis.
"Revolving Qi Burst!"
Salazar's already battered body instantly erupted with countless sprays of blood. This almost self-mutilating application of the technique was incredibly effective; it nearly completely tore apart the user's body the moment it was activated.
Revolving Qi Burst was not a difficult skill to master. Its principle was simple: to detonate the drawn or activated Qi outside the body, causing it to unleash a powerful impact while also having a splash damage effect that spread like a spinning blade.
But what if the Qi detonated was from the Monk's own body, rather than a tiny portion that was externally activated?
The answer was obvious…
The wild and uncontrolled Qi would destroy all areas within the Monk's body containing 'Qi' during the first burst, then damage them a second time before spreading outwards!
Bannai, delayed twice, finally failed to dodge in time. Under Salazar's almost suicidal attack, he was swept away by the surging Qi vortex that erupted like a furious wave…
Salazar, whose internal organs were almost completely shattered, fell straight back, a spiral of blood beneath him, like a blooming crimson flower, tragic and brilliant.
He could no longer feel pain; his whole body felt light…
Was this what Krab felt before he was completely finished?
Hmm, not bad.
Tsk tsk, did you think attacking a vital spot would be the end of it… I already shifted my heart aside before you even made your move, you see. Although that means I'm definitely dead, I can at least pull off one big move after being pierced through.
It's worth it. Trading a fatal self-mutilation for a few extra seconds of life, and then using that life I've gambled away for a self-detonation, it's incredibly cost-effective…
The sky is so blue~
It's strange, I can't feel pain, yet I can still feel the comfort of a warm breeze…
I really miss those times sunbathing with everyone. Even though I was always quiet and called a mood killer or something…
Salazar grinned, his lips now exposing bone, and slowly closed his eyes.
His hands, which hung by his sides, simultaneously curled slightly, and then both thumbs extended, pointing towards where Krab had fallen, and towards the direction the rest of Fenrir Squad had left…
He stopped breathing.
After a long while…
Bannai, with a ferocious expression, stepped out of a black shadow and walked over. He then kicked Salazar's corpse several meters away, tilted his head back, chugged a bottle of pale purple potion, wiped his mouth, and gritted his teeth fiercely: "Meaningless struggles… will only make the comrades you want to protect die more miserably!"
…
Salazar bought three minutes.
During this time, Ned, Yinna, Mo Tan, and Shuang Ye ran continuously in the opposite direction of Marshall Territory without a word. Everyone silently endured, not knowing if they were enduring the constantly Attack ing sorrow, or the urge to turn back and die with their companions… or both…
As for fatigue and exhaustion, things bought with the lives of others, they did not need to be endured.
No one spoke on the way. The scene of Krab falling earlier was still vivid in their minds, and Salazar, who had stayed behind alone to entangle with Bannai a few minutes ago, had almost no chance of survival… No, thinking rationally, it was zero…
But even Mo Tan and Shuang Ye, the most rational players, were unwilling to think about the scenery they had left behind for even a second.
"Stop for a moment…" Ned, who was the first to break the silence, suddenly stopped in front of a giant tree, propped his now chipped longsword on the ground, and looking at the three who had also stopped, suddenly smiled slightly: "I'm a bit tired."
Yinna immediately reached out to pull him: "Captain, you…"
"So you guys go first." Ned actually sat down on the spot: "I'm really tired~"
Mo Tan walked in front of him and said softly: "Do you want Krab and Salazar to die in vain?"
Shuang Ye didn't turn back, but also whispered: "Who do you think they did it for… Get up quickly, I still have a few scrolls…"
"They won't die in vain." Ned interrupted with a smile: "Two kilometers south of Dieyan City, there's an old, abandoned path from many years ago. Because the village at the other end of the road has been deserted for a long time, the magic crystal lamps along that path were also discarded long ago. In one of the lamps, which has three marks at the bottom, there's something. I want you to survive, find it, and then give it to the chieftain of Fire Claw Territory."
Yinna was slightly stunned: "That is…"
"Information and evidence regarding the capture and sale of slaves." Mo Tan sighed softly: "Am I right?"
Ned nodded, a faint smile still on his face: "This is the last wish of Krab, Salazar, and me, whom you all are willing to believe without hesitation…"
"I understand." Yinna, whose emotions had almost spiraled out of control, suddenly calmed down and said softly: "Your wish will come true…"
With that, the beautiful elf girl stuck out her tongue at the two players: "You two hurry up and go."
"You!" Ned was about to speak, but suddenly felt a slight coolness on his face, as Yinna gently kissed him.
"If you wish to be the last sacrifice in this tragedy." Yinna smiled gently: "At least let me accompany you. Don't refuse, otherwise it would be too impolite for a girl."
Ned was speechless for a moment…
Mo Tan, however, gritted his teeth fiercely, then grabbed Shuang Ye: "Let's go!"
"What are you doing!" The latter, however, struggled desperately, her small, raised face covered in tears, her eyes red as she cried out: "I'm not leaving!!"
There's an enduring saying: 'Bystanders see clearly'…
When we watch movies or many literary works, we often curl our lips and inwardly curse 'idiot' when we see characters arguing about leaving or not leaving. After all, if the person who voluntarily stays behind intends to sacrifice themselves to buy time for their loved ones, companions, or family, then logically, the latter should cherish this sacrifice and make a firm and decisive 'correct' decision, instead of dragging their feet and wasting the former's good intentions…
But these are all 'logically speaking,' 'rational,' and 'correct.'
And these often run counter to what is called 'human nature'…
Humans are never rational beings, and they never only make correct choices. And it is precisely these 'stupidities' that make our human identity complete.
Readers can be rational…
Audiences can be rational…
Bystanders can be rational…
Because the people in those stories have nothing to do with us; they are just names, faces of actors, or a few simple and pale words.
Ultimately, no matter how immersed we become, we cannot truly experience the emotions of those characters.
So, are the characters involved not foolish?
No, they are still foolish, impulsive, and incorrect, but this may not be because they don't understand reason or are being unreasonable. It's just that something called 'emotion,' 'belief,' or 'principle' is at play.
Mo Tan could understand, because he had experienced a lot… Although his personality at this moment was not unique, he could still think rationally.
But no matter how smart Shuang Ye was, no matter how much of a genius she was, no matter her impressive achievements in psychology…
She was, after all, just an introverted, closed-off, and solitary girl.
She was already rational enough, at least she tried her best…
But there was a limit to that. In front of these NPC companions, who were indistinguishable from real people, she was no longer willing to continue 'fleeing.' Even if it was self-deception, she wanted to live and die with everyone.
The girl, who had only been accompanied by a slightly clumsy AI every day and hardly ever interacted with the outside world, felt a warmth she had never experienced before in this place called Fenrir Squad.
And at this moment, that warmth was gradually drifting away from her…
So, this legend who dominated the hacker world, this true genius girl, this person who constantly talked about 'AI' and 'data,' was now like an ordinary girl—
She didn't want to leave…
Not at all… she didn't want to leave this place called Fenrir, which was slowly beginning to fall apart… her home…
Chapter Sixty: End