novelraw Chapter 313: Opens Instantly
Chapter 313: Opens Instantly
Su Zhan retracted his wings, gliding down to land amidst a dense canopy of trees.
He dispelled his aberrant transformation, the fleshy wings withdrawing into his body as the scales on his skin gradually faded, restoring his appearance to that of an ordinary, clean-cut young man.
While high-altitude flight was certainly swift, with the Aberrant Purge Division having already laid a dragnet—especially with Ling Shuang controlling the surrounding air defense systems—continuing to fly would be nothing short of seeking death.
At most, only very short-distance, low-altitude flights like this one were possible. Flying a bit faster or higher would easily lead to detection, and sustained flight couldn't be maintained for long, all for the sake of safety.
Su Zhan identified the direction. The outline of Black City was already faintly visible on the distant horizon.
The remaining journey had to be measured by foot.
Su Zhan wove his way through woodlands and wastelands, avoiding roads that might have signs of human activity.
Thirst and hunger constantly gnawed at his will.
He found a mountain stream, bending down to gulp the icy creek water, then relied on his sharp senses to capture a nocturnal hare.
Drinking its warm blood raw and devouring its raw flesh, he barely replenished some energy.Over twenty days of depletion couldn't be made up for in a short time. His current condition was probably less than two-thirds of his peak strength.
Su Zhan dared not stop.
Qin Bai would never give up easily. Every moment of delay added another layer of danger.
He gazed toward Black City.
That place was a lawless land, a breeding ground for crime, but it was also his only lifeline at present.
He had to set foot on that land before he completely collapsed.
Su Zhan lay prone behind a shrub on a hillock, watching from afar the few essential checkpoints on the outskirts of Black City.
Each checkpoint had a barrier.
However, these were only Black City's own checkpoints.
But Su Zhan absolutely refused to believe the Aberrant Purge Division would be unprepared. These people were probably hidden, just waiting for him to walk into the trap.
Waiting for the rabbit to bump into the tree stump...
It had to be a waiting game.
Qin Bai knew Su Zhan's target was Black City, so he simply stationed heavy forces at all entrances, resting his troops while waiting for the exhausted prey.
Force a breakthrough?
Su Zhan assessed his own condition.
Facing a possible siege by more than one Abyss Realm expert and numerous Tide Realm team members, the success rate was minuscule. It would plunge him directly into a hopeless situation.
Wait?
He couldn't afford the delay.
Every extra moment he lingered, his physical stamina declined, and the risk of discovery increased.
Moreover, Qin Bai couldn't possibly maintain such a high-intensity blockade indefinitely. The longer time dragged on, the more variables would arise, but likewise, his own condition would worsen further.
He had to find another way...
Su Zhan's gaze swept past those overt checkpoints, fixing on the blurred outline of Black City.
As a lawless land, Black City absolutely could not have only these few officially monitorable passages.
Smuggling tunnels, hidden paths...
These were also Black City's true entrances.
However, finding these entrances required time and connections—precisely the two things he lacked most right now.
Su Zhan slowly exhaled a turbid breath, his eyes settling into calmness.
A forceful assault was a poor strategy;
waiting bitterly was a dead end.
He needed to find a breakthrough.
Right at that moment.
The Aberrant Purge Division members originally scattered in various locations seemed to receive an order simultaneously, abruptly changing direction and converging at an extremely fast speed toward the area where he was hiding.
Discovered!
How?!
Su Zhan's heart jolted violently. He believed he had concealed himself extremely well, his aura restrained to the utmost.
Unless the enemy had special detection methods far exceeding his perception range, or... there was a traitor?
No, impossible, Feng Jue and the others...
Su Zhan had only hidden here for a moment, his aura suppressed.
The location was meticulously chosen as a visual blind spot.
Unless the enemy had the ability to foresee the future...
No time to think!
Two Abyss Realm pressures erupted with a boom.
One was golden-red and blazing, carrying the momentum of a sweeping prairie fire.
The other was ice-blue and bone-piercing, suffused with a frost-killing intent.
Han Xiao and Ling Shuang.
They hadn't been guarding the overt checkpoints at all, but had been lying in ambush on the side, waiting for this very moment.
"Target locked!"
"Encircle him!"
Countless dark figures closed in from all directions.
Weaving into a net, it rapidly tightened with him at the center.
Escape!
Su Zhan shot out from his hiding place.
Aberrant transformation, instant activation!
Future Vision of the Time Abyss Pupil, instant activation!
The residual power within his body burned recklessly.
Behind him, terrifying pressures drew closer and closer.
"Whoosh—!"
A golden-red spear light, launched later but arriving first, shot straight toward Su Zhan's back.
It was Han Xiao's Blazing Plains Blood Spear.
Su Zhan's scalp tingled with terror. There was no time to look back. Relying entirely on the heaven-defying 5-second prediction of Future Vision, his body twisted violently to the left at the critical moment.
Simultaneously, his right palm slapped backward, a solid mass of Mist Energy coalescing like a shield.
"Boom!"
The spear light slammed fiercely into the Mist Shield, shattering it with a crash.
Using the force of the impact, Su Zhan's speed increased by another thirty percent, but a sweet taste rose in his throat—another mouthful of blood welling up, which he forcibly swallowed.
An intense, burning pain shot through his right arm, a mark left by the spear's intent.
"Tsk, a slippery eel!"
Han Xiao's dissatisfied grunt came from behind, his voice shifting from distant to near with frightening speed.
Having just dodged Han Xiao's fatal spear thrust, an extreme chill abruptly descended!
Above his head.
Ling Shuang had somehow already hovered to a stop, the crystalline ice wings on her back spread, scattering a skyful of ice particles.
Her hands formed seals, her eyes icy and merciless.
"Thousand Feathers Ice Kill."
Countless ice-blue feathers shot toward Su Zhan from all directions.
Future Vision frantically issued warnings. In his mind, the trajectories and impact points of dozens of ice feathers instantly materialized.
He abruptly halted his steps, his body twisting and spinning at an impossible angle.
His fists and legs became blurs, precisely blocking or batting away the ice feathers aimed at his vital points.
"Ding ding ding ding—!"
A dense series of collision sounds, like rain beating on plantain leaves, rang out.
Dozens of fine wounds instantly appeared on Su Zhan's body. Blood, before it could even flow, was frozen. A bone-piercing coldness wildly invaded his body, making his movements stiff and sluggish.
"Roar!"
At the critical juncture between life and death.
Su Zhan let out a low roar. The Mist Energy within his body erupted regardless of consumption, forcibly shaking off the surrounding ice and residual spear intent, and he began sprinting forward again.
He absolutely dared not stop to engage these two, even a one-second pause could plunge him into an inescapable siege.
While fleeing, Su Zhan used the terrain, constantly changing direction, using rocks to shield his figure.
But Han Xiao pursued closely from behind, spear lights like dragons constantly blasting.
Ling Shuang coordinated from the air, ice feathers, as if possessing tracking ability, always finding the most tricky angles to strike.
New wounds continuously added to Su Zhan's body. Blood soaked through his clothes, only to be frozen again by the cold.
His aura visibly withered, his speed also began to slow.
If not for the heaven-defying predictive ability of the Time Abyss Pupil allowing him to evade fatal attacks by a hair's breadth every time, he would have been captured by the two long ago.
Can't go on like this... I'll die!
Su Zhan clenched his teeth so hard his gums bled.