Chapter 283: Look!

Chapter 283: Look!

As a dragon, Maya did not like this place. Although she had been resting on the beach for many days, she still felt tired. The feeling of hunger had lingered since she arrived here. Even though her stomach was full of food, even feeling somewhat bloated and painful. The beasts here were too dry, unable to satisfy her guts that desperately needed mana’s nourishment.

By instinct, she curled up into a ball and continued her light sleep. This reduced her energy use and allowed her body to quickly adjust, so she could adapt to this environment sooner. She still needed time, but her companions clearly did not want to wait any longer.

When she took to the air, sourness and weakness also flooded her body. Slowly flapping her huge wings—a familiar and easy action before—now felt strange and stiff to her.

Following the howling sound, she flew toward it, her mind dazed and foggy. During the flight, mana no longer accompanied her. Without mana’s resonance, the wind blowing against her felt awkward and harsh. She felt as if the wind had turned into sharp fangs, gnawing at her flesh and blood.

An unfamiliar feeling she had never experienced before also descended—cold!

Her flesh began to cramp and tremble, and her scales started squeezing against each other due to the shaking, producing harsh, grating friction sounds. The sound was like fingernails scraping across ice, carrying a natural chill that made her tremble even more.

As she flew closer, a faint smell of blood made her spirits lift. She instinctively turned her head toward it and discovered a still-warm corpse lying on the ground, hidden under leaves and branches. Along with the seeping blood, mana was dispersing in wisps.

As the dragon approached, Ruben secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and his mind relaxed slightly too. Zoya seized this opportunity. The light from her blade surged like a storm and she pounced forward.

This sudden attack disrupted the rhythm of their chase, making Ruben flustered. All he could see around him was Starlight, which dazzled his eyes. The hidden killing intent within the Starlight filled him with terror.

Along with the tension, cold sweat welled up from his hairline, slid along his skin past his brows, and finally hung on his long eyelashes. As he blinked, it gradually blurred his vision. The Starlight around him also gathered into one stream at this moment and crashed toward his head.

Accompanied by the crisp sound of weapon s clashing, Ruben’s battle blade broke with a snap. As he leaped back in retreat, a trace of coolness swept across his chest and belly. Zoya did not press the attack as everyone expected. Instead, she withdrew her blade and retreated quickly. At the same time, she pointed her blade tip behind Ruben and screamed one word: “Look!”

Everyone subconsciously looked there. There, only withered grass grew thickly, nothing special. This inevitably made them look at each other in confusion, their hearts filled with heavy doubt. When they wanted to find the person who had caused this scene, wanting to figure out what had happened, they realized the young girl had already vanished.

They had been tricked!

“Chase! She can’t have gone far.” Ruben casually threw the broken blade aside, reached his hand into his torn armor, and when he pulled it out, his fingertips were already stained with blood. Luckily, it was only a flesh wound.

A shadow flashed overhead. Ruben couldn’t help but resent silently—why so slow? Weren’t you so impressive back home? But he immediately remembered: this was the Desolate Continent, far from their homeland. Many of his experiences and habits not only offered no help here, but had become fatal flaws.

Ruben took a deep breath and drew two spare Short Blades from his waist. A momentary lapse had let the fish from the net escape. He didn’t want to make the same mistake a second time. Still, that childish-sounding scream really was frustrating. But in his heart, he had to admire the young girl’s grasp of timing.

They had been wrong from the start. They shouldn’t have targeted this girl. From their brief exchange, he could roughly judge her abilities. As long as they divided into small groups and stayed cautious, this girl wouldn’t have many chances for ambushes. That was also why Ruben gave the order to continue the pursuit. Now, the searchers were moving quickly through the forest in groups of two or three.

A companion slowly walked to his side, forming a pincer position with him. Glancing at the broken blade on the ground, he couldn’t help exclaiming, “Good blade!”

Ruben looked in the direction Zoya had disappeared into the forest. “The person, better!”

His companion frowned. “Don’t praise the enemy.”

Ruben’s gaze remained fixed as he explained, “She could have cut my weapon in our first clash. If I had panicked, I’d have died or been heavily injured. But at that time, everyone’s attention was on her, so she wouldn’t have escaped.

She launched a fierce attack around me, drawing your attention. Worried and anxious, you naturally focused on my safety. The last strike separated us and created distance. And because you were concerned, you turned most of your attention to me. I didn’t die, wasn’t even badly hurt—it made you relax a bit, right?

Even I felt relieved. Then she acted as if she didn’t want to fight anymore, diverting our gaze. In that moment of turning, she had already escaped. If we had been on guard, she wouldn’t be a match. But now, I barely survived.

After our initial investigation, we thought this Continent wouldn’t have many remarkable people. It seems we were quite mistaken. And this is just a girl. Who knows who she might bring back after escaping?”

Ruben sighed and continued, “Now, think about the Great Wizards. What kind of people do you think they are? So we must retreat immediately. We passed an island on our way here. Let’s hide there first. When their search parties think this place has been abandoned, we’ll come back.”

Maya hovered weakly in the sky, her hunger growing with each circling pass. The corpse on the ground tempted her more and more. He was dead, no longer of any use. It was just a corpse, a fresh piece of magic-rich food. In her dazed state, she flew lower and lower, getting closer and closer to that piece of food.

Ruben had been paying attention to his surroundings. When Maya descended from the sky, he momentarily thought he had made a new discovery. He even admired the girl’s choice—who would have thought she would return to the original spot?

This time, Ruben did not intend to let her go. He made a gesture to his companion. The two held their breath and stealthily moved toward that area. As they got closer, a strong smell of blood and the sounds of chewing and swallowing came with the wind.

What was happening?

Ruben pushed aside the branches and leaves blocking his view. An unexpected scene entered his sight, causing him and his companion to lose their composure. With a loud shout, “Maya!” his companion charged forward, wanting to stop the foolish dragon.

Ruben had also leaped out, but a gleam of Starlight slanted out from the treetops overhead, sweeping silently past his neck…

Maya saw the Starlight and also glimpsed the young girl who would soon disappear among the treetops. So she roared and pounced forward. But her former companion blocked her path…