Chapter 582 The Hunt
Jonathan whipped around at the sound of the countdown, only to see Joselle sitting on a mossy rock, swinging her legs innocently beneath her. “Six. Five. Four…”
Joselle counted down solemnly, bringing one finger down with every count. Run! Not daring to hesitate another moment longer, Jonathan turned and bolted.
He did not care about much else at the moment. Ideas ranging from feigning ignorance to showing weakness had been cast to the back of his mind.
Like a madman, Jonathan displayed the full extent of his God Realm cultivation level by turning into a streak of light and dashing out at a rate of a dozen meters per step.
As he began his hasty descent down the steep mountain, a giggle sounded.
“Run, slave. It wouldn’t be fun if I caught you too quickly.”
Joselle’s laughter was sweet, but it reverberated all over the valley like a terrifying death sentence.
I initially thought I could outwit my mysterious companion, but now it seems my scheme motivated by self-interest and feigned sincerity might have only worked against a young, naïve girl, who has never been exposed to the horrors of society. Against an old demon of immense and unknown age, such deception is no different from courting death.
Spurred by the recollection of the assortment of bodies lying in two rows, Jonathan mobilized the spiritual energy in every fiber of his being and dashed through the trees.
Atop the mountain, Joselle finally arrived at one and squinted down at the dense forest below. A moment later, a smile made itself known on her face.
“Found you!”
She raised her right arm, holding the spear’s end, and threw it forward.
Boom!
Following the sound of an explosion, the spear disappeared.
Joselle leaped up and bounced atop the trees in the direction Jonathan had left.
During the pursuit, Jonathan’s hair stood on end, as he felt something terrifying watching him. He then stepped on a thick and ancient tree trunk in his path.
Crack!
Following the snap of the wood, Jonathan forcibly redirected his momentum and leaped to the side.
A streak of light overhead intercepted the route he was advancing on seconds before.
The spear impaled into the rock without a sound.
When Jonathan landed, the hill before him shook violently before blasting apart.
Boom!
Countless boulders were sent flying in every direction.
“Holy sh*t!”
Jonathan pressed his palms together. His spiritual energy converged before him and formed a spirit shield shaped like an arrowhead.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Countless pieces of gravel and debris collided against the spirit shield and ricocheted away.
Jonathan was knocked backward with each collision.
There were simply too many rocks that rained down upon him too fiercely.
If Jonathan had held up a spirit shield, he would have been only able to resist one or two pieces at most.
He found it easier to manage if he used the angle to change the trail instead.
Jonathan’s face was drenched with sweat as he gazed at the leveled hill dozens of meters away.
“Bloody hell,” Jonathan cursed at the sight of the hill being razed flat by the spear. “You should get into land development and build roads with strength like that.”
He considered employing trickery to adopt Joselle as his stepsister and have a powerful fighter by his side. Aside from the respectable families, even Wilbur and Joshua of Yaleview would think twice about confronting him.
It would easily be one against ten. In the face of absolute power, every little trick up their sleeve is inconsequential. If I could trick Joselle into leaving the abyss with me, we would instantly stabilize Chanaea’s current situation.
However, such an idealistic plan had been marred by brutal reality.
The spear would have impaled me had I not altered my original course earlier on.
As the distance from the top of the mountain was only several hundred meters, Joselle’s spear was terrifying in both strength and accuracy.
Though he grumbled about it, Jonathan understood from that instance alone that he would not stand a chance against the girl.
Even if his God Realm cultivation level had been completely restored, he still would be no match for her.
Run!
At the sight of the figure dashing toward him from the distant slope, Jonathan turned and bolted.
Seconds after he departed, Joselle landed weightlessly before the spear.
Grabbing the spear’s shaft, she casually pulled it out of the rock. There was a glint of excitement in her eyes.
“This slave is more interesting than the ones before!”
Giggling, Joselle leaped to her feet and dashed ahead once more.
In the meantime, Irving was covered in blood as he did battle against a dozen demon wolves in a mountain col, despite being covered in scales conjured from his spiritual energy.
The staining of blood on his reptilian skin made him look like a human-shaped dinosaur.
Though the demon wolves around him were mostly injured, they remained highly organized.
Amidst their seemingly chaotic formation, they had sealed off every possible point of exit Irving could take.
Despite being a lightweight and flexible martial artist, Irving felt frustrated as he could not run from nor kill his adversaries.
“Am I going to fall by the claws of these foul beasts?” Irving said reluctantly through gritted teeth. “Over my dead body. The only way is to use the Blood Reversal Pill to increase my cultivation level and make a dash for it.”
Irving was contemplating whether to waste his trump card on the pack of brutes when he felt a wave of spiritual energy approaching him from the back at high speed.
Before he could turn around, the figure was already outside the pack of wolves.
Irving met the gaze of the newcomer—an exhausted Jonathan running for his life.
“What…”
Jonathan squatted down and gasped for breath as he smiled abashedly.
“You don’t look like one of the men in black.”
When Jonathan spoke, Irving’s expression darkened before delight filled his gaze as he stared at the former.
To think I’ve been hunting high and low for him all this time. There he is all along! Though I cannot escape the ambush of the pack of wolves, I could cause a diversion. As long as I can lure Jonathan into the battle zone and have him restrain the pack, I will be able to escape.
Irving chuckled at that thought as he leaped to his feet, making a dash toward Jonathan.
“Your death awaits!” he bellowed as he clawed at Jonathan’s face.
“I don’t have time for your nonsense!”
Throwing his fist outward, Jonathan sent Irving flying back into the middle of the pack.
Bang!
Irving fell heavily onto the ground. Ignoring the pain all over his body, he leaped back to his feet.
It is a pack of feral wolves. If they catch an opportunity with me off my feet, that will be the end of me.
Sweeping a furtive glance around, Irving noticed the pack of wolves retreating slowly.
He was stunned at the sight of the demon wolves’ fearful wariness.
Following a chorus of howls, the pack of demon wolves turned and ran as if they had suddenly gone mad.
“You’ve elected a new alpha wolf so quickly!” Jonathan remarked with a laugh. With a surge of spiritual energy, he, too, turned and ran.
